Coach Elena's Blog

Random words (warning: with occasional language) about Faith and Sports - because we win for Jesus anyway
Share your thoughts and connect at info@elenasbrana.com

Good Friday - April 2024

Genesis 3 is where we see that the blood covers,
but the Cross is where we see reconciliation.
- Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts


In some languages, what we call Good Friday is actually called Holy Friday.
For it is a Holy moment in time.

Over 2000 years ago, Jesus sacrificed everything, so that today you would know this:
-you are a child of God
-you are valuable
-you are loved
-you are worth protecting
-you are worth defending
-you are worth fighting for
Remember that.

#GoodFriday #redemption #restoration #reconciliation

Write - March 2024

Human beings are creative storytelling beings.
They make art because that's what human beings do.
- Margaret Atwood


I have always been a firm believer that there is no writer's block. That what a lot of people refer to as writer's block actually does not exist.
What does exist is resistance, and fear. And it is actually some kind of fear.
Fear is an opportunity to ask questions, become curious, investigate - and get to know ourselves better.
An opportunity to ask - what is this fear, and what is this fear trying to tell me?

Sit with it, and listen, and maybe it will speak.

Sometimes
when the blank page feels daunting
a new pen will be the magic wand
like a breath of fresh air
a sliver of courage
to begin anew
and birth some new words
a new life on paper


#art #writing #blogging #fear #artist

Stay with the Pain - March 2024

"You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end - which you can never afford to lose - with the discipline to continue the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be"
- Admiral James Stockdale


If you are supporting an athlete, or really anyone in any capacity, this one is for you.
Because a hard day will come at some point.
And it's also one of the roundtable conversations that we have in our clinics - and the reason we do, is that we want parents and family to know that it is okay to be in the pain with someone, and sometimes it is actually the best gift you can give them in that moment. To just be in the pain with them.
To acknowledge that it is okay for them to be in the pain, to respect their pain, and to sit with them in that pain for a moment.
Because most often, the first thing you want to do - as a parent, as a friend, as a spouse, as a coach, as a teammate (insert whatever your role) - is you want to take that pain away.
It's the normal first reaction - we want to fix it, we want to minimize it, we want to create distractions and cheer them up - and that is understandable because we never want to see a loved one suffer.
Except that by wanting to fix it right away, or to make it disappear - we don't take the time to allow the athlete to acknowledge that pain, to own it and understand it and process it. In a way, we would rob them of the process and the growth associated with it.

It's something I see quite often, being kind of a last resort coach - as when people pick up the phone to call me, it's usually because something did not work out as expected. Anything from recovering from an injury to coming short off of an important championship.
So yeah - pain comes knock on my door quite often, so to speak. My own, and other people's.
And when pain is around you often, you learn to think of it as a guest that you invite to the table for tea - and let's get to know each other better. Like a guest over for tea, let's get in touch with the emotions, recognize them, acknowledge them.
One thing you can do is create a container, hold space for your athlete to go through their process. Hold space for them to process safely, without fear, without judgement. Hold space for them to be able to speak it out: I am in pain, this disappointment hurts, this setback hurts, this loss hurts - and before I start asking where do we go from here, I want to work through it and own this pain.
One of the comments I hear often from athletes is 'they all want to cheer me up and I don't want them to cheer me up, I want them to acknowledge that it sucks' - they want someone to stand in the pain with them. They want someone to say damn, this is ugly, and it hurts, and it really sucks, and I'm heartbroken for you. And yet I am here, and I'm so proud of you for facing this moment with courage and faith.
Here's my invitation to you - be the person that is not afraid of looking through the window and staring pain in the face. Be the one that stands in the pain with them, and holds space for them to process, however ugly and difficult it is.

Thank you.


#pain #process #integration #supportingathletes

Dear Coaches... this one's for you, and for me, too - March 2024

Every catastrophe
is an opportunity
if you handle it right
- Bishop TD Jakes


Dear Coaches,
We ask our athletes to be in charge of the process and take ownership - but are we modeling what we preach?
As in... are we taking full ownership, extreme ownership - of all we do, the highlights and the not so fabulous moments? or are we showing the athletes a highlight reel of who we are?

Coaches, let's normalize saying I'm sorry.
Let's normalize openly owning up to our shortcomings.
Yep, I just said that.

Sometimes we act with the best of intentions, thinking that we know what's in the best interest of the athlete - and yet the outside look of things isn't that great. Sometimes actions and words and motives can be misinterpreted, and even cause damage and hurt.
Remember, the athlete's perception is reality to them. And the fact that we know why we do what we do the way we do - that doesn't mean that they will.

Let's normalize saying it out loud - I'm sorry, I wanted the best for you, and yet somehow I still messed this thing up.
And before someone gets on the defensive - let me remind y'all (or us)...
Saying I'm sorry does not necessarily mean you did something wrong. Saying I am sorry means that you value the professional relationship with the athlete more than you value looking perfect. It means that the relationship is more important to you than your ego. It means you care about the athlete more than you care about looking like you know what you are doing. And believe me, that's something the athlete needs to hear.

So yes, let's normalize being the first to say I am sorry.
Let's normalize asking our athletes for forgiveness - and asking them (not expecting them) to give us the grace of another chance.


Yes, it shows that we are not perfect - shock horror, I know - and more important, keeps the relationship transparent and honest.
And yes, it shows that sometimes we have more questions than answers, and we don't know which way is up.
And you know what - in case no one told you before, I've got news for you: sometimes we do not know which way is up.
No one has all the answers, no one.
And let me add - thanks God!
And also let me add - Athletes, run away from those who think they do.

We are all a work in progress, we are all imperfect, and we all occasionally miss the mark. Let's give each other some grace and kindness and find ways to move forward together.
And yes, maybe I'm just writing this and speaking to myself.
Because believe me, I miss the mark too, God knows I do. And I have to make my own accountability walks and go ask for forgiveness.
And if I can do that - with my big ego the size of Texas - trust me, you can, too.
Many blessings y'all -
Coach E.


#sports #athletics #coaching #behavior #accountability

Guard Your Heart - January 2024

Above All else
Guard your heart
For everything you do
Flows from it
- Proverbs 4:23


On the train of the last blog post, and of a sermon I recently heard - here is a super short post. A 'micro-blog' you could say - and all it wants to be is really a reminder.
When He dispatched them, Jesus also warned His disciples against bitterness.
He advised them to not let what other people said or did or lied about them get to them. Pretty much do not let bitterness get on the inside of you. Do not allow bitterness into your heart. In a way, do not let your heart get bitter.
Remember the wise words of King Solomon.
We all need this remider from time to time.
Never allow the schemes of the enemy to make your heart bitter.
Always guard your heart.
You choose what gets to have room in your heart.
Choose faith.
Choose hope.
Choose love.


#faith #hope #love #heart #guardyourheart #Proverbs

CAN YOU HANDLE IT? - January 2024

When you obey the Lord, you will be equipped, sustained, led and graced by Him for the obediance He has called you to. You will also be misunderstood, accused, and have your motives maligned by others.
You will face opposition that may at times cause you unimaginable suffering.
Obey anyway.
-Brooke Ligertwood


Wait, you forgot?
Did you forget Jesus warned us that we'd not always be welcomed with open arms...

Can you handle being talked about? Can you handle being lied to? Can you handle being misunderstood? Can you handle being lied about? Can you handle being slandered? Can you handle being falsely accused? Can you handle being persecuted? Can you handle being hated?
Can you handle people thinking that they know your intentions, your motives? Can you handle them distorting and misinterpreting and even maligning your intentions and motives?
Those are questions we all need to ask when we choose to speak up in Jesus name.

Jesus asked His disciples - can you handle insults and attacks, can you pass the test, can you fight against the weapons of the enemy? The weapons of the devil are insults, attacks, scrutiny, slander, accusations. The devil will uses slander, lies, and accusation to attack us, to stop us from doing the work of the Lord.
That is how spiritual warfare works.
That is how the enemy tries to stop us from doing the very thing that God has called us to do.

We are here on this Earth to do work for the glory of God.
Everything else is a distraction.
What the enemy does is place obstacles on the way as distractions.
Why? Because while we are busy fighting, while we are busy handling our own hurt and pain, while we are busy taking care of slander and accusation and lies, we are not able to make progress and do the work that God has called us to do.
And that is exactly the plan of the enemy, to stop us from doing what we are here to do.
This is why we have to ignore the distractions. This is why we have to tune out the noise. This is why we need not get into arguments and conversations.

What the enemy wants is for you to be scared of the persecution - scared enough to withdraw, scared enough to stay small, scared enough to not do what you are called to do.
You have to pass the test.
You have to overlook the insults, the offenses, the accusations.
You have to be at peace with the fact that some people will talk about you, lie about you, and try to discredit you.
The act of maturity here is to avoid lashing back and starting arguments or conversations. Let it go. You do not need to be right. You do not need to prove anything. You do not need to go and right your wrongs. Remember that's God's job, not yours.

Let it go.
Let it go and keep doing the work of the Lord.
Let it go and love.
When God said no weapon formed against you shall prosper, He meant it. He never said it would not form - He said it would not prosper. It won't. Truth always wins. Trust God.


#Gospel #outnumbered #approval #character #spiritualwarfare

SOME QUOTES FROM GRIT DON'T QUIT - January 2024

"There will always be resistance to those seeking freedom. There will always be resistance against you stepping into your calling, purpose, and potential. And facing these resistance requires resilience."
- Bianca Olthoff


Having been part of the book lauch group for one of Bianca Olthoff's previous books (Play with Fire), last Fall I joined the launch group again for the book 'Grit Don't Quit' and it's been a great read.
Spoiler alert - you should get it and read it FIRST, and then after you are done reading come back here, or reach out, and we can compare notes, so to speak.
I am sharing here, in no particular order, some quotes from GRIT DON'T QUIT that resonated with me. Enjoy, and go get your copy of the book!

Because resilience, grit, and perseverance can indeed be attained, there is hope no matter your circumstances.

Obeying God, even when we can't see what lies ahead, is the most powerful thing we can do.

If we are faithful to move, God is faithful to lead.

If you want to live a life worth living - one with meaning and purpose - it requires confronting pain, resistance, and fear.

You are more than a conqueror because you're resilience is not your own. You have the power of the resurrected Christ residing in you.

You were made on purpose, With a purpose, For a purpose.

Grit is unwavering obedience even when it doesn't make sense how to get there or how it will end.

We don't simply need God's voice to help us discern good and evil. We need His voices to discern between good and almost good. We need the voice of God to know His will versus our will. We need the voice of God to remind us we have the grit to keep going.

Delayed obedience is disobedience.

The Holy Spirit wants to lead you, guide you, and empower you to do what you - and quite possibly everyone else - don't think you can do.

We have very little control over what goes on outside of us, so to find solutions, we must look inward.

God will use the places we've been hurt to bring blessing to others who need healing.


Alright, enough spoilers here. Now go wherever it is you buy your books (hopefully a real brick and mortar bookstore) and get yourself a copy of GRIT DON'T QUIT by Bianca Juarez Olthoff.


#Gritdontquit #book #BiancaOlthoff #TFHOC #TheFathersHouseOrangeCounty

DOMINATE - January 2024

Then God blessed them, and God said to them,
“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
have dominion over the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the air,
and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
- Genesis 1:28

God has a plan.
Yes, a plan for me. And a plan for you, too.
Do you know what that plan is? Did you ask God?

I have. And I keep asking Him for guidance all the time. Sometimes I hear back, and sometimes I don't - and yet I still keep asking, and following when He shows me a way.

Every year there's a theme that I use as a compass, and the theme for 2024 is DOMINATE.
Dominate what - you may ask.
Dominate life. Dominate life in all ways - which means dominate my mind to begin with.
This will be my constant reminder that it was God's intention for us to dominate the earth and all creatures of the earth - and dominate ourselves.

So yeah - 2024 is here - go forth and DOMINATE!



#GlorytoGod #weworkforJesus #NewYear #goals #dreams #blessings #dominate #GodsPlan

Emmanuel - December 2023

Noel
Noel
Come and see what God has done
- Lauren Daigle

Happy Christmas y'all.
We know God is always with us - and yet around Christmas we cannot help but feel His holy presence somewhat closer, as He is indeed walking in the midst of us.

Unusual Christmas for us, as we get ready to spend this year end apart - and Mark gets ready to deal with yet another round of cancer treatment.
Maybe more than usual, God's presence is really what we long for this Christmas. To know His glory is with us no matter what, and He has plans for good, and He will see us through in some way.

Not the bright and light post you were expecting for Christmas, maybe - and yet we are still looking for joy in each day. Moments of joy - this is what we give thanks for.

This is our wish for you this Christmas as well - that you may treasure His presence and find endless moments of joy to be grateful for.

#Godishere #Jesus #Christmas #gratitude #thankful #blessings #Godwithus

DISCERNING - December 2023

"We live in a generation of confusion when evil is dressed up as good and good is smeared as evil"
-Pastor Rachel Knight


Sometimes part of adulting, part of growing up, is figuring out that things are often not as they appear. Figuring out that those who were going against the grain, the contrarian thinkers, those who spoke against the public opinion, those who begged to differ - maybe those were the people who actually had your best interest at heart.

It's a harsh wake up for some - to realize that those that people warned you about, those that said something different from what everyone told you - maybe they saw something inside of you that everyone else ignored or did not consider.
Maybe those who were painted as the villains, like if they had some hidden motives or agendas - actually saw the potential inside of you, and wanted you to go for the biggest dreams, and reach a greater level of success - and really wanted the best for you.

Maybe those people warned you about, those people told you to be suspicious of - actually wanted something FOR you, not something FROM you. And part of growing up is learning to discern the difference, which is not always obvious.

Maybe the contrarian thinkers were sent onto your path so that someone could see your greatness, and show you all that you could become and create and build.
Sometimes God sends helpers in disguise, and blessings in unlikely packages. Question everything.

Sometimes you need time to pass, you need distance, you need the ten thousand feet view to see the whole picture. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright used to tell his students at Taliesin that if you did not have the whole picture you did not have anything.
And Sir Alex Ferguson stated it so well - of soccer and life:
"When you are a step removed from the fray, you see things that come as surprises–and it is important to allow yourself to be surprised. If you are in the middle of a training session with a whistle in your mouth, your entire focus is on the ball. When I stepped back and watched from the sidelines, my field of view was widened and I could absorb the whole session, as well as pick up on players’ moods, energy and habits. This was one of the most valuable lessons of my career and I’m glad that I received it more than 30 years ago"

Sometime God sends people.
And sometimes the devil sends people.
Learn to discern - and when in doubt, refuse to listen to the noise. Instead, ask God for wisdom.
He will answer - and if you choose to be still and listen, you will hear His voice.


#discernment #contrarian #breakthemold #alwaysquestioneverything

GIVING THANKS. AND WHAT FOR? - November 2023

Give thanks in all circumstances
1 Thessalonians 5:18

At times, when I get on social media to do my business posts, I get caught in the vortex and start scrolling for a few minutes. I guess I tend to like a lot of Bible verses and sermons, so that's what often shows up in my feed.
Around Thanksgiving, many of those posts revolve around gratitude and counting our blessings. Everywhere you turn, you are invited to be thankful. We are invited to give thanks in all circumstances.

But do we?
And do I?

I wonder these days, while Mark goes yet through another round of chemotherapy, and we have a lot of questions, and maybe no real answers.
And there is to note that Paul does not say give thanks for all circumstances, Paul does not say be thankful in all circumstances - Paul says give thanks in all circumstances.
He says give thanks. As in, give thanks to God. Praise God.
Praise God for He is good. He is always good.
He is good in all circumstances. He is good despite your circumstances.
Even in the storm.
Even in the fire.
Even in the drama.
God is good always.
And we praise God for who He is - not for where we are.
We praise Him for who He is, while we are where we are.
We praise Him where we are, because He is good, because in this storm we are still together, and because we know God is always with us.
Right here in the storm.
Right here in the fire.
Right here in the drama.
He is here.
He is with us.
And for His presence we give thanks.

#Godslove #gratitude #thankful #blessings #Godwithus #endcancer

PLANT THE SEED - October 2023

"I mean I'm just sick of fighting people that I try to help
'cos I know how much I wish I had somebody to tell me who to watch out for and how to do things the right way
so we ain't wasting time running on a treadmill and figuring out how to empower each other
instead of going against each other"
- Damon Anthony Dash


'sick of fighting people that I try to help' - yep, that's one way to say it, Dame Dash.
And then sometimes those who've been stuck in a system too long - they are so accustomed to the system, that they will doubt and fight anyone coming in to help them. They have been subject to the system so long that they will be suspicious of anyone wanting to help and show them a better, faster, healthier way to grow and be more successful.

And yeah, I can hear some of y'all in the back saying why bother.
Why? Because some of us went through the times of the top down coaching, when coaches believed they had all the answers, and did not care about our injuries and our emotions and ideas.
This is why I want to over communicate with athletes and hear what they think and feel all the time.
This is why I want them to speak up.
This is why I want them to always have a voice, and be heard, to the point that sometimes they ask me why do I want to know everything they think.
This is why I ask so many questions about their life inside the gym and outside the gym.
This is why.
Because some of us didn't have the best experiences all the time, and we want to create improved environments and a better experience for the next generation of gymnasts and athletes.

Does it always work? Of course not.
When I tell athletes that they need to be in charge of their training and manage their fitness, energy, and injuries they seem confused. Many of them are so used to being told what to do by their coaches all the time. They are not used to being asked for their ideas and input.
And yet, my choice will always be to help anyway.
My choice will always be to speak the truth, and show a better way, and ask questions, and empower athletes to question everything and think for themselves and take ownership and be in charge of their training.
My choice will always be to plant a seed - even when they will question my motives and slam the door.
A seed takes time. I'm just planting a seed. Maybe they will ask more questions. Maybe they will learn to say no. Maybe they will own the process just a little bit more. And maybe over time they will take full responsibility and grow and find the success they deserve.

Plant the seed.
The seed will grow.
Their time will come, and at some point they will find the way.

As a coach, how many times do you get a phone call from a former athlete and hear - I get it now, I understand what you were doing, I understand what you were trying to teach me, I can't believe I was so close-minded back then.
I've gotten many of those calls over the years.
And many times - it was because they were so accustomed to being instructed and commanded like robots - that it felt absolutely foreign to be asked to think for themselves, share their ideas, and make decisions on their own.

The top-down coaching is an old way of coaching and a system we need to break through a massive culture change in sports.
The system needs to change. The time of top-down coaching with the coaches thinking that they had all the answers - that time has come and gone, and thanks to God it has.
Athletes must be the primary voices in their training and as coaches we are the guides and we help them, and allow them to take ownership of their training and be in charge of it.


Young coaches, please choose to plant a seed.

it's okay of they say you ask too many questions
it's okay if they think you are weird
it's okay if they say it's too much attention
because you know what
if with your question you just planted one seed
one seed
one question
in just one athlete
and someday somewhere at some point
that question keeps them safe or helps them succeed at the highest level
you know what
you've done your job
yes you've done your job
you gave them the instruments and tools to protect themselves and succeed
plant the seed

And maybe someday you will get a phone call. And maybe you won't, and that's alright either way.
Choose to plant a seed.
There is always value in planting a seed.
Bring light.
Speak life.
Speak truth.
Create.
Give God the glory.


#ask #askquestions #questioneverything #sayno #NOispowerful #NOisacompletesentence

What's in reach - October 2023

"Where you are right now, feeling stuck, feeling lost, feeling like you will always be restricted with the big dream... Where you are is not an indication of where you'll land. But where you are is all that you have in reach.
And so you have to be willing to ask yourself: if I can't get to what I seek, what can I do with what is in reach?
God, what can I do with what's in reach? These are the resources I have, this is the money that I have, these are the friends that I have, this is the relationship that I have... I don't want to sit up here lamenting what I don't have. I want to know what I can do with what's within reach"
- Sarah Jakes Roberts

What do you have in reach?
Mother Theresa used to say let's start here where we are, with what we have.
And while it sounds great and makes you want to feel all wise... we constantly get stuck and procrastinate, because we think we don't have what we should have, and it won't look as good as it should look, and we are not yet where we should be... Yep, perfectionism is a bitch. And it has been said that doubt and fear kill more dreams than failure ever will.

What if you just started something, somewhere, with no expectations? What if you had nothing to lose, except your fears?
We look at beginnings like they are the hardest feat - but are they?
Learning a new skill, failing at something new, trying something that's always been in the back of our mind and we've never done... why not?
What is so scary about doing something new - and totally sucking at it?

And you may wonder, do I practice what I preach? As a matter of fact, I do. If anything - I'm great at starting and absolutely terrible at finishing. In other words, consistency is clearly not my forte.
And I'm not just talking about work, and sports - also life in general, recreational activities, anything. Good starter, terrible finisher.
Here's an example. A few weeks ago I picked up an old balalajka, and decided to learn something new. Am I horrible at it? yes. Am I excited about it? yes. Am I going to get better? also yes. The tough part is always the first step - making the choice of starting something. It will never be harder than it seems before you jump.

What about you - what did you start today?

#habits #new #practice #challenge #fear #consistency

ANTI-HERO - October 2023

"It has been said that pressure produces diamonds. I would like to submit for your consideration that pressure produces opportunity. That when you learn how to surrender to pressure and no longer resist the pressure you see that there are opportunities connected to the pressure. Not opportunities for you to gain externally, although that is there too, but opportunities for you to become who God has called you to be - someone you never could have become had it not been for the pressure"
- Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts


Pressure is a privilege
pressure makes you more
more of everything
more competitive
more talented
more intelligent
more wise
more resilient
more determined

Pressure defines you

Pressure is your weapon
pressure helps you win
because winning matters
competing matters
pressure matters

I create the pressure
I bring the pressure
You cannot ever put me under pressure and expect me to quit - I don't quit, I thrive on pressure.
You cannot possibly hurt me. God my King is on my side, and I know everything He allows, even suffering, is working for my good.
I am unoffendable. Everything that is ever said about me, true or false, positive or negative - I use for fuel

Whatever you do - I use for fuel.
I recharge myself
I change myself
I grow myself

Everyone hides skeletons in the closet
I dance with them all night
We are not the same

Everyone covers up their mistakes
I use them to grow and win big
We are not the same

Everyone fears pain and pressure
I am forged in pain
I create the pressure
We are not the same

I am here to dominate because that is what God commanded us to do on this earth. Dominate.

DOMINATE WHERE YOU ARE
WIN WHERE YOU ARE
RIGHT HERE
RIGHT NOW
WIN RIGHT NOW
DOMINATE RIGHT NOW

And if you are one of the few in my inner circle, or on my side in some way, or a friend - or just someone coming to my clinics or reading this... Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, I am really grateful for you, and I send your way much love and many blessings.
And yeah, really, it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero - and I'm thankful for you.


#antihero #pressure #winning #dominate

LOVE THE DREAM - September 2023

You are dreams aren't accidents. They're always there, trying to help you become the person that you need to be in this lifetime.
- Rachel Pedersen

The other day at Bible study, a question came up to me. It wasn't in the study notes, and I guess I'm not the best Bible study leader, because, well, I tend to go off script quite often. But then I'm a rule-breaker, or maybe I should say a rule-bender, it sounds less rebellious I suppose... and I asked the question anyway.

Do you love the dream that God put in your heart?
Do you respect your dream?
Do you nurture your dream?
No, seriously - do you love it? As in - are you treating your dream with love?

Because it's easy to have a dream. We all have dreams, many of them. And some of us dream more than others.
That's 'dreams'.
But what about the dream? The Dream with the capital D, the one that comes from God, the one that is really the reason He put us down here on this spinning grain of sand, the one that is meant to change everything, the one that is our life mission, the Dream?
Are you loving your dream, are you treating that dream with love?
Because love is hard work.

Love isn't a feeling, love is commitment.
Love is hard work.
Love is loyalty.
Love is perseverance.
Love is a battlefield.
Love is faith.
Do you love your dream?

#dreams #faith #perseverance #loyalty #purpose

WHAT IS IN YOUR HANDS - September 2023

Are you using what God has given you as a testimony of his grace?
Are you thankful for everything he has done thus far in your life?
Don't complain about what you don't have; rejoice for what you do have and for what is on the way!
- Paula White Cain

What is in your hands?
It's a question I've asked myself often.
It's usually a combination of three questions:
1. What's the mission?
2. What's important now?
3. What's in my hands?
I use them as the guide questions, they force me to look at what resources I have available, what's in my hands, what's within reach - what can I do with that?

Because the spiderweb of comparison touches everyone - even someone like me who generally tends not to care for the social aspect of things. And if we are not careful, the spiderweb of comparison will stick and make us a bit... sticky. And stuck.
We look and wonder what we could do and how much further we would be if only we had the resources that we see on the other side of the fence. And so often we forget that maybe, just maybe - the grass on the other side of the fence is greener and taller and more luscious because it was watered more and cared for more.
We look and compare, and forget that most people refuse to acknowledge setbacks and struggles and hardships, and what we are indeed comparing is the entire raw reality of our life versus the extremely curated and edited highlight reel of someone else's. We are comparing the entire 5 sets of a grueling match - the good the bad and the ugly - to the 1 minute highkight reel showing the beautiful match point.
Except it doesn't work that way. Because the winning match point doesn't exist without the entire 5 sets, without the fight, without the bad and the ugly.
In other words - the fabulous highlight reel does not exist without the raw reality of overcoming the struggles.

This is why we don't build trust by showing off the highlight reel. Life is not a highlight reel. We build trust by showing the reality of life, the high and lows, struggle and all. We build trust when we become relatable - not when we put ourselves on some pedestal which is far removed from the day-to-day reality of our audience.

Looking at our hands - what's in our hands - is a good reminder that we always have something. There is always something available, a starting point, a resource, however small, to take the first step. A jar, a little bit of oil. It all starts there. And then more jars, more oil. Being resourceful is the life of the entrepreneur. Being resourceful is how we grow. Because nothing will stunt your creativity and growth more than plenty of resources. Sounds counteintuitive, doesn't it? And yet, look at how companies with endless resources stumble and crumble, and then look at how startups with no funding can grow exponentially out of a garage.
All you need is something.
A place to start.
And the determination to use that something to glorify God.

#start #gloryfyGod #hands #mission #WIN

EVERYTHING I DO - August 2023

You know it's true
Everything I do
I do it for you
- Bryan Adams

What is love?
Love is hard work.
Love is going all in.

What changes now is, I'm going all in for you
It's all for you
Everything I do is for you
I'm going to hustle like I've got to take care of you and give you a good life
I'm going to make coin like I need to create a lasting legacy for you
I'm going to live and love like I need to be the role model and parenting example you look up to
I'm going to pray and prayer and worship like I need the Word of God over your life all the time
I'm going to write and photograph and create and coach and teach like I need to show you a powerful example of crafting your own life path
I'm going to live every single moment like you are right here with me and all I do is for you
Because I do
Everything I do, I do it for you

#everything #allin

I AM - August 2023

I am chosen, not forsaken
I am who You say I am
You are for me, not against me
I am who You say I am
- Hillsong Worship / Brooke Ligertwood


Our pastor the other day invited us to ask the question - who am I, and who am I becoming? The instructions were to write it down in short sentences, and begin each one with the words "I am"

I am
I am Elena Sbrana
I am a child of God
I am a follower of Christ
I am a student of the Word of God
I am a warrior
I am a loyal friend
I am s protector and defender
I am a lover of pressure
I am intentional and deliberate in everything
I am forged in pain
I am born of the Angels' fire
I exist to follow God's command
I am strong athletic and powerful
I can do all things with God
I am a coach and a guide
I make life uncomfortable on purpose
I am a seeker of excellence
I know only one speed - full send
I know only one level of commitment - all in
I know only one level of effort - 100%
I am on a quest for holiness and mastery
I do everything for God's glory
I believe in the impossible
I make athlete's dreams into reality
I am here to be of service to you

Coach E.


#Iam #GodsGlory #HisStrength

GIFT AND PURPOSE - August 2023

"I can tell you this much
that what He has called you to do
exceeds your natural gifting"
Beth Moore

You want to know something that does really makes my brain spontaneously catch on fire...
Fire, yes - picture the human torch from Fantastic 4 in the elevator... that kind of fire.
Wanna know what?
Seeing athletes who have talent, and character, and passion, and drive, and artistry, and work ethics - athletes that in a good training environment would literally be elite already - who get sandbagged into season after season of level 10 because their coaches do not care and much less want to sustain an elite program.
For real, athletes who would be elite competitors already, if only they were coached by decent humans.
Except they are in environments where coaches care more about club revenue and business than they care about the athletes.

Seriously y'all, stop.
Just stop.
For the love of everything.
just. freaking. stop.


#coaching #ethics #integrity #athletesfirst

TO (NOT) DO LIST - July 2023

your peace
is more important
than understanding why
something happened
the way it did
let it go
- Ashley Maland

I do not have much to add today. That's about it.
Your peace is valuable.
Yes you want to know.
Yes you want to understand.
Yes you want a chance at restoration.
Yes you want a glimpse of hope.
But you know what?
Your peace is valuable.
Protect your peace.
Let go and let God.

#letgo #peace

THE OWL - July 2023

"The owl is one of the most curious creatures. A bird that stays awake when the rest of the world sleeps. They can see in the dark. I find that so interesting, to be mired in reality when the rest of the world is dreaming. What does he see and what does he know that the rest of the world is missing?"
- M.J. Rose

What is your dark side?
Kobe chose the black mamba. What about you?

As for me - I always chose the owl.
My sister used to joke and say yikes, quoting Shakespeare "Thou ominous and fearful owl of death" and really that's it, that's what I think about. The owl that has the watch at night, when everyone is asleep. The silent protector who has the watch.

the owl is my dark side
the creature of the night
the silent killer
the dark predator
the protector of dreams
the silent killer that comes, gets it done, disappears.
in darkness
in silence
unseen
the thing unseen
you never see nor hear the owl coming
the raptor that wins fights against all odds
the raptor that goes after the impossible and makes it happen
unseen
unheard
when no one is watching
the raptor that takes the prey away from bigger stronger predators
the predator that hunts predators
the victor against all odds
the raptor that wins impossible fights
in silence and darkness
the one that HUNTS in silence and darkness
the one that WINS in silence and darkness
the one that DOMINATES in silence and darkness

Because when you find yourself in a dark place
you need someone who lives in darkness
to hold space for you in the darkness
to protect you in the darkness
to help you find your strength in the darkness
to help you conquer the darkness
to help you win in the darkness
to help you dominate in the darkness
and fly away in darkness when you take the crown
unseen
unheard
in the darkness
because the crown is yours
because the glory is yours
because it was all within you
everything you needed to win was within you
everything you needed was within you
feel no fear
the owl has the watch


#darkness #darkside #owl #win #protector #wehavethewatch

MAKE HEAVEN CROWDED - July 2023

The Lord woke me up and was like
You are doing this wrong
You are not here to win games,
You are here to open the door
Here to win souls.
- Patty Gasso

You know I love to win.
Heck I don't even know if I love it - I just can't help but want to win. There's no other way but win.
Winning is everything.

And yet when I look at the from the ten thousand foot view - winning is the materialization of something deeper. Winning is the external manifestation, the byproduct, of going from Glory to Glory following God's plan.
As I coach - my goal is for my athletes to win. I am here to win.
And at the same time winning is giving God Glory - which means making heaven more crowded, bringing souls to Jesus.

God never does anything without purpose.
There is a reason we are here - and it is to bring people there - to heaven.
We are here to spread the gospel, to bring people to Jesus, to make heaven more crowded.
Your life is ministry.
Wherever you are, there is your ministry.
Take the opportunity to spread the Gospel wherever you are. Bring the word of God everywhere, you never know who may be listening, you will never know how the word of God may change their life.
Or yours.
Or both.

#Bible #ministry #Godsplan

NDCQ - July 2023

What’s defined my game more than anything?
Determination, tenacity. I do not quit.
Knock me down ten times, I get up the eleventh and shove that yellow ball right back at you.
- Maria Sharapova

NDCQ:
NOT
DEAD
CAN'T
QUIT

That's it. That's really all there is.
I'm not the best maybe, not great maybe, not the smartest maybe. But one thing I do have: grit. I do not quit.
No matter what, I do not quit.
No matter who, I do not quit.
I go where God tells me to go, I do what God tells me to do. I do not quit.
NDCQ.
Until the day He calls me home, NDCQ.

As C.S. Lewis once put it "hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny" and that's an invitation to welcome hardship rather than avoiding it. And you know what - if hardship doesn't knock on your door spontaneously, then go and make your own path harder on purpose.
Yes I meant what I said. Make it harder and HTFU.
It will make you stronger and you will grow from it.
Embrace the hardship and embrace the discomfort, until you go and seek it.
NDCQ to the end.

#tenacity #keepgoing #NDCQ #nevergiveup

Creative Rollocoasters - June 2023

If you really do want to write,
and you are struggling to get started,
you are afraid of something. What is that fear?
- Margaret Atwood

Does the blank page scare you?
If it does, you are not alone.
If you procrastinate and think I'll blog tomorrow, I'll create the picture tomorrow, I will do whatever tomorrow... you are not alone. We've all been there. The only difference is how we react to it.
Some of us let that fear stop us - others, well, we just hammer through and put all our confused crazy words out there, and whatever is to happen, well, so be it.

Risky, you say? On the contrary - I dare you to experiment with a different viewpoint.
What if actually acting on your creative ideas is... healthier and safer? What if holding off, and bowing to the fear, contrary to public opinion - is actually hurting you?

If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don’t bring forth what is within you, what you don’t bring forth will destroy you.
- Gospel of Thomas.

Stuck ideas become destructive. Anything of a creative spirit cannot be confined or bottled up or stuck. It has to flow freely and follow its course.
A creative idea is not yours to keep, it is not some kind of treasure to store in a safe - it is a flowing powerful wind that needs to move and touch lives and constantly grow like a hurricane.

Ideas belong to the world, not to us.
We are merely vessels - when we choose to be.
Let's not take ourselves too seriously.

Oh, and now go and write that book.

#creativity #artist #writing #creating #creativeprocess #fear

OWN IT - June 2023

everybody has a chapter they don't read out loud
- Ashley Maland

If you know me, you know how protective I am with my privacy.
I love privacy.
But, I hate secrecy.
Yes I said hate, and yes I know it's a strong word, and yes I said it on purpose. I hate HATE H-A-T-E secrecy.
Privacy is love and respect. Secrecy is an open door to sin.
Those are two completely different things. One protects the gift, the other one hides the sin.
Privacy says I have something precious that deserves to be protected.
Secrecy says I have something sinful that needs to be hidden.

Privacy is a right. The right to protect your personal life, and safety. Privacy says that information flows on a need to know basis. You do not need to know where I live, where my house is, what car I drive, where the kids go to school, where and when we're going on vacation, what's our favorite restaurant, which house of worship we're going to... Information flows on a need to know basis. If you are someone who needs to know, you will.
Secrecy is an opening. And we know how much the enemy likes to exploit openings that are left unguarded. Secrecy is saying there is a veil, there is some form of concealment, and everything that happens behind that concealment is unseen, or goes unseen. Secrecy is perceived immunity from consequences. And that opens the realm of possibilities to things that are no longer controlled by rules and morals and values and laws and any other compass that we use to discern good from evil in our everyday life.

This is why I have zero tolerance for secrecy. The Word of God is our compass, ou Law, and any kind of secrecy refuses to align with the Word and refuses accountability - which makes it an open door to sin, an opening for the devil to exploit.

Here I invite you to ban secrecy from anywhere near your life. Refuse it. Choose to live in the open light. Refuse to hide. God knows everything, God sees everything - and He loves us even when He knows we messed up.

In leadership especially there is no room for secrecy. The impact of any opening that the enemy may exploit is so large when you lead a group, and the effects and consequences of concealed sin could impact so many people and ruin lives and generations.
In any position of leadership, there is a responsibility to firmly refuse secrecy.

In athletics and sports, where minuscule errors such as taking a medication at the wrong time may cause someone to be stripped of a yellow Jersey or a gold medal - there is never room for anything concealed nor secret.
There is no room for secrecy in athletics.
Anything that is not done in light, in complete honesty and transparency, opens the door to opportunities that the enemy could exploit, and the consequences are irrecoverable.
Secrecy in athletics is a no.
A huge no.
A Zero tolerance no.

If anyone ever asks you to keep a secret, don't even ask why or wonder what they want - just turn your back and run the other way at the speed of light.
Make the decision to choose honesty and transparency.
Make the decision to refuse secrecy.
Refuse to open the door to sin.
Refuse to give any room to the enemy.
Spiritual warfare is hard enough - wear the Armor of God, and keep the door closed.

Yes, everyone has a chapter they don't read out loud.
But they still read it.
Choose to read it.
Read it.
Own it.
Once you own it, you have the power.

#ownership #privacy #transparency #honesty #armorofGod #spiritualwarfare

DESTINY - May 2023

Some of us are hopelessly waiting on someone to get a revelation of what is in their best interest.
We are waiting and hoping and praying that someone will get a revelation of what God has for them, of what their ultimate destiny is.
We are praying and wishing, and we are discipling and mentoring, and we pray that they will realize what God has for their future.
But we need to understand that you cannot care about someone's destiny more than they do. You cannot want and pray someone's destiny for them more than they do.
- Bianca Olthoff

Destiny.
In the big scheme of things - it seems almost impossible that someone could miss out on their destiny.
Because in the end, what God has for you is yours, period.
And yes, that is true - no one can take something God intended for you. However, you can make the decision to let go of it. Yes, that's what free will on earth is. You can make decisions that will cause you to miss out on what God has for you.

And if you think I've been hacked or lost it because for once I'm being dramatic - let me remind you that there is a God, and there is an enemy.
No I'm not playing drama queen. There is an enemy and spiritual warfare is real.
What does that mean to you? Well, simply put - there's an army of darkness roaming the earth with the purpose of taking us Christians off of our God given purpose. Yes, the enemy and all his schemes and armies.
When you think about it - there is nothing the enemy wants more than to get you off your path, steer you off course, and make sure you miss out on whatever it is that God called you to do. It is, in a way, his job.

Your job (in case you were wondering) is to hear the voice of God, and make sure to walk on the path He illuminates for you. Make sure you do follow your call, make sure you do use your gifts, make sure you fulfill your destiny.
Spiritual warfare, my friend, is very real.
And this is why fellowship and community is important - because we can encourage one another in Christ, and resist the attacks of the enemy.

But what do you do when you see someone's destiny, and gifts, and talents - and they have been so crushed by the enemy's distractions and temptations and doubts, that they do not see nor believe the destiny God has for them?
Pray, yes - you can pray.
Pray for revelation.
Pray for opportunity.
Pray for listening.
Pray for God to speak in their heart.
Pray.

#destiny #prayer #purpose #spiritualwarfare

FOREVER - May 2023

I think of you
When I think about forever
- P!nk

I wrote this on Twitter (now X) a while back and made it a pinned tweet, so here you go:

No matter if someone was your coach for a few hours or for a few decades.
No matter if you won the Olympics together or you walked out on each other and slammed the door in between.
If every single person that's ever been your coach does not want the absolute best for you, in sports and in life, you need to find better coaches.
If every single person that's ever been your coach is not your bigger fan for life, you need to find better coaches.
If every single person that's ever been your coach does not love you forever, you need to find better coaches.

That's it.
That's the tweet.
Coach Elena out.

#twitter #coaching #respect

WINNING - April 2023

Losing. I know what losing does to you. I’d learned its lessons on tennis courts all over the world. It knocks you down but also builds you up. It teaches you humility and gives you strength. It makes you aware of your flaws, which you then must do your best to correct. In this way, it can actually make you better. You become a survivor. You learn that losing is not the end of the world. You learn that the great players are not those who don’t get knocked down—everyone gets knocked down—they are those who get up just one more time than they’ve been knocked down.
Losing is the teacher of every champion.
But winning? On this level?
It was entirely new and I would have to learn its lessons, which can be devastating. In short, winning fucks you up. First of all, it brings all kinds of rewards, which, if seen from the proper perspective, reveal themselves for what they really are: distractions, traps, snares. Money, fame, opportunity.
- Maria Sharapova

Losing is awful.
Winning is everything.
It's really that simple.
We play to win. We compete to win. All we do, we do to win.

Winning is everything.
Winning makes you more.
Winning makes you braver. You win and you believe more, and you dare more, and you work harder, and you keep going.
Winning makes you more courageous to go bigger and go harder and believe the impossible and make it happen.
Winning grows your courage, and your confidence, and leads to more winning.

This is what drives us. We want to win.
Yes we fall, yes we mess up, yes we are knocked down - but that drive to win is bigger than anything else and we can't help but get up again and keep going, because that's the only way that we will get to experience another win.

One more.
Always one more.

And then one more.
Just one more win.
And one more win.
One more.

I will close with another word from Maria Sharapova, who said this better than I ever could: "Losing hurts. It is so painful. It can also be the best thing. It prepares you for winning."

#winning #losing #win #more

PROMISE VS OUTCOME - April 2023

we want the promise and the outcome before we take action.
Faith puts God first.
Faith takes action before getting to see the outcome.
Faith is holding onto God promises in the 'not yet'.
- Matt Olthoff

Wouldn't it be lovely, if each time we could see the certainty of the outcome, before we make a move?
I bet you say yes. Duh. Right?
But then, would it be faith at all?
Faith cannot see.
Faith requires you to take the first step.
And that first step has to be in the unknown.

Faith is walking up to the shore of the Red Sea and making the conscious decision to step in because we know that we serve the God of miracles.
Faith is coming up to the Lord's Prophet and saying "all is well" although the child is no more.
Faith is stepping out of the boat into the storm because Jesus said "come".

Faith is not dependent on the outcome.
Faith is dependent on our God - and knowing that the outcome is in His hands, and he only has plans for our good.
And I don't know about you, but I believe what He promised will come to pass.

#faith #promises #unknown #outcome #expectations

Tick Tock - March 2023

"O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?"
- Edgar Allan Poe

You can't save them all.
That's something people say that I absolutely cannot stand, it annoys the heck out of me.

Yes you can, you fucking can, go do the work of the Lord.
God commanded you to save, He commanded you to protect, He commanded you to defend. Go do the work God gave you to do.
Do. The. Fucking. Work.

In the big scheme of things, if you are around the middle of your life - you probably have about 1500 weeks left give or take. Fifteen hundred times seven days. Dang, it ain't a big number.
Every single day that you allowed to pass - you will never get it back.
Every second that runs by is gone forever. You use how you want, or it's gone forever. You can't reach out and get it back, it's gone.

What do you want to do with the 1500 weeks you have left?
1500 times one chance.
Tick tock motherfuckers. Wake the fuck up.
And in case me saying tick tock motherfuckers offends you... first of all I could not care less, because I want you to wake up and win, and second you can read the same message in the kinder more poetic words of Charles Baudelaire:
"Souviens-toi que le Temps est un joueur avide
Qui gagne sans tricher, à tout coup! c'est la loi"

1500 weeks.
What do you want to do with your 1500 weeks?
Actually, let me change the question - because what you want doesn't really matter.
What will you do with your 1500 weeks?
What are you doing with your 1500 weeks?

And if you are planning to give me the - I don't know, please save it, you do. You either don't believe you can do it, or are scared to say it out loud. And you know what - that's fine. Be scared, don't say it out loud if you don't want to - but go and fucking do it.

You want ideas to start? Here you go.
Why are you here?
What is on the to do list that God gave you?
Are you doing it?
If the answer is no - adjust accordingly. Do it now. Tick tock.

The truth is simple:
Everything is under your control.
Everything impossible is possible with God.
And now go get stuff done.
Tick tock motherfuckers.

#time #life #purpose #Godswill #purposedriven

Of Redemption and Goodbyes - March 2023

Redemption does not guarantee us safety in this world;
it is a promise that we will never walk alone. - Lisa Bevere

On New Year's I chose my theme for 2024, and it was REDEMPION.
Redemption from what, you ask - Biblical redemption, relational redemption, career redemption, sport redemption... or maybe all of the above?
Redemption for missing the mark, the standard, kinda like saying I am sorry God for 'stepping out of perfection for a moment' or something of that nature.
Redemption in a confused career that maybe it's not where it should be - or maybe it took me exactly where I was supposed to be, or where God wanted me to be anyway.
And maybe redemption for walking out as a villain from a place I did not want to go to, but somehow I landed at - and for some reason could not leave right away even when I announced that I was going to leave.
Life is funny, isn't it? You know it's not it, and you say I'm leaving, and you tell them when you will be leaving - but for whatever reason you are compelled to just stay a little while, before taking off.
Sometimes it's okay to go out as the villain.
And maybe sometimes is an excuse, a way to shift responsibility.
A sad goodbye is hard. Beth Moore once said that we must resist the urge of a mad goodbye, even though it may be easier than a sad goodbye. And it's probably true - an irritated goodbye, a mad goodbye, sometimes that's easier.
And that's okay if it saves someone a heartache. If someone gets really mad at you, or annoyed with you, they will not hurt as much when you leave. They will suffer less when you walk out the door.
Or maybe I'm just managing my own guilt trip, who knows. If someone gets mad at you, will you feel less guilty for leaving them, for walking out the door without looking back? Maybe, maybe not. And it doesn't really matter. No one cares. You are hardwired to take the hard hits, that's who you are. You are here to protect them. So yes, maybe you're right where you need to be. You are the shield, it's okay if hard stuff hits you, as long as it's spares them.
That's the life of the protector.
So yeah, sometimes walking out as the villain is alright.
And maybe there's some redemption for the villain too.

Or maybe not, and no one cares anyway, it's a goodbye - whichever goodbye y'all want to make of it - and now let's go and win.

#redemption #goodbye

FLY - March 2023

"They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:31

Another day, another early rise, another cup of tea in an airport.
Believe it or not, I really do not like commercial air travel. I love to fly, but not on commercial planes. Given the choice, I drive everywhere I can.
And yet, I chose this lifestyle for myself.
And this lifestyle means sometimes events and engagements are back to back and there is no time to drive.
No time to drive, no time to adjust, no time to reflect, no time for anything really.
It's just go.
Just go, and ignore everything else.
Ignore the pain.
Ignore the fear.
Ignore the doubt.
Just go.
Forget it and go.
Ignore it and go.
Silence it and go.
Just go.
This life is just go.
Full send, one speed, all in.
Just go.
Above the clouds, above the noise. Soaring like eagles.
Above haters, above naysayers, above unbelievers.
Above the obstacles, above the hardships, above the mountains that refuse to move.
Just go.
Just fly.
Just soar.
Above all doubt, above all fear.
Faith over fear.
Faith over fear.
Faith over fear.
Just go.
Just fly.
Just soar.
Just win.

#fly #soar #freedom #believe #trust

THANKS GOD I DO (THE COACH PRAYER) - March 2023

"I don't know who I'd be if I didn't know You I'd probably fall off the edge I don't know where I'd go if You ever let go So keep me held in Your hands I don't know who I'd be if I didn't know You Thank God I do"
- Lauren Daigle

In case you haven't noticed, well, I like to pray.
I pray all the time. Official prayers, improvised prayers, made up prayers... I like to talk to God and listen to His Word and really just have a two way conversation with my Father above.
So here you go - here's something I came up with today. And if you want to pray this for your athletes, or for yourself, or for your teammates, or for your children - feel free. Ideas belong to the world, and really - everything we create, and the skills we use to create, all of it belongs to God.

The Coach's prayer

I pray for you
And I ask the Lord above
That you:
Believe in the impossible
Make it happen on your terms
Be present in the
Give 100% effort
Commit to be all in
Find joy in your sport
Enjoy the path of excellence and mastery
Know that you are valuable
Know that you are loved
Trust the process
Believe in yourself
Own your progress
Take ownership of your daily practice
Are in charge of your training
Set your boundaries
Ask for what you need and want
Believe God hears you and sees you
Understand pressure is a privilege
Recognize you are a precious diamond
Thrive under pressure
Shine bright under the spotlight
Seek challenge
Choose to be uncomfortable on purpose
Ask your coaches for help and support when you need it
Speak up and make your desires known
Be assertive
Believe your dreams
See yourself as strong and powerful
Trust God that all you desire will come to pass
Be deliberate and intentional in all you do
Take inspired action
Make your dreams come true
You own your practice
You own your success
Take action
Win it all
Give God the glory

in Jesus' mighty name I pray.
Amen.

Oh, and by the way, I love you forever.

#prayer #coach #believe #trustGod

THE LAST RESORT COACH - February 2023

"that which we send out we can also receive" - Laura Wright

Is this Coach Elena? We got your number from... (insert a name).
That's how a lot of my phone calls start out. And then they go on to say "We hear you are the last resort coach, we are down to the wire, there's only one Elite qualifier left, all we have is this one chance, and so and so gave us your number" or something like that.

And maybe to some people it would sound weird to be considered 'last resort' - and yet, I cannot think of any words that would describe me more appropriately.
Because let's be real - I am the last resort.

I'm not the best technician, I am not the best spotter - and I am an event specialist... I'm what most people would call an asshole: I thrive on pressure, I am straight forward and direct, and I don't sugarcoat it and I make people extremely uncomfortable on purpose...
It stands to reason that I would be the very last phone call that one dials. I'm the number you dial when things did not go as planned and you faceplanted on the world stage. The number you dial when by any normal standards you'd be desperate - except we don;t do desperate around here - around here we fight.
I'm the number you dial when there's no time left, when you have tried every other option, and you know all you have left is that one chance. Yep, that's pretty much it, last resort.

The coach you call when there's nothing left to lose.
The coach you call when everyone counted you out.
The coach you call when you are not sure anyone still believes in you.
The coach you call when you already lost and anyone knows you already lost - and yet, something inside you still burns, a voice inside you still cannot be silenced and tells you there's one last chance to prove everyone wrong and win it all.
The coach you call when you want someone to say yes to what everyone else told you was impossible - the one who will say you have one chance, I believe we can do it, let's go for it.

And you know what - I'm alright being that coach. I'm alright being the last resort coach. I'm alright being the coach no one wants to call. I'm alright being the coach no one wants to need. I'm okay being the coach that no one will call until there's nothing left to try.
In a way, I'm alright being the coach you call when you don't trust anyone anymore, and you don't want to trust - and much less trust me. And you know what - maybe tout se tient, because I have trust issues, and likely that attracts trust issues, and maybe we need to give what we most need, and maybe we both need to learn to trust again.

Last resort.
Last chance.
Last dance.
Let's dance!
Let's win!

#coaching #mindset #hope #onechance #believe #everythingispossible

I wish you would - February 2023

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
- Romans 12:2

And yes, I know, that's the title of a song - and no, that's not what'm talking about. Or on second thought, yeah, maybe it is. Thank you Taylor Swift for the inspiration, and thanks to one of my athletes for putting this song on one of my practice playlists, It made me think.

I wish you would... what do I wish, really?
I wish you would stop listening to the noise. I really do.

One of the things I ask my athletes to do is to work on their meet day routine and rituals, and protect their meet day routine from outside influences. Big time.

You will see them walk around the arena on meet day, and they are wearing noise canceling headphones or earbuds before open warmup, and in between rotations, they have their own playlists and they are going through their day routine like nothing around them phazes them - because nothing does.

Noise and distractions are a modern version of the tactics of the enemy.
Because you know what - social media and email and websites and policies may be new or updated, but the tactics of evil are as old as the world... and they have not changed.
What is noise: criticism, gossip, slander, accusations, comparison... those discussions do not belong in our mind. Clear your mental space today, ignore what people say about you, ignore what others are doing.
What are distractions: temptation. Oh yeah, go ahead and roll your eyes, oh yeah I'm gonna get church-y and bring up the T-word, yep. Because we have to confront the reality that we are all tempted by shiny objects and situations all the time. It's not a scarlet letter, even Jesus was tempted. The evil one is constantly trying to get us off our purpose and that's what the enemy does - he places people and things around Christians who are in their purpose, to try and get them to sway off their purpose.
Temptations - all the things that take us off the path. Endless scrolling on social media, taking off purpose to go shopping or whatever, missing responsibilities because something 'more fun' becomes an option, laziness, excess of any kind - remember, the devil finds openings through the five senses y'all...
A temptation is an open door, an invitation - and while opening the door may seem initially innocuous, once the opening is there the enemy can exploit that opening to take us off the path God intended for us. That is why discipline is important. Discipline is remembering your path and purpose. Discipline is remembering what you really want. Discipline is the strength to close doors - and to avoid opening them in the first place.

What, you had not noticed? Every time you are stepping up and doing what God has called you to do, something comes up. Yep, you got it right, that's the devil showing up. Never shows up if you are doing nothing - but when you start walking in your purpose... well there you go, all hell comes loose.
What is the enemy looking for - trying to drive you away from your purpose, waiting for you to make a bad decision, to miss the mark. That is what sinning literally means - missing the mark.

How do we make better decisions?
We control our mind.
We take every thought captive and ask - is this of God or not of God? Does this align with the Word or not?
This is how we ignore noise and distractions.

Is it hard work? Yes - we are all tempted, all the time. Even Jesus himself was tempted and had to resist. Does it get easier? No it doesn't - we just get stronger and we add more tools to our ability to withstand the attacks of the enemy. Spiritual warfare does not get easier, we get stronger and we get more skilled.

Pray in the Spirit today, ask God for wisdom to discern the schemes of the enemy, and ask Him to make you stronger and more skilled in your spiritual warfare - and in recognizing the attacks of the enemy before they happen.
You got this - and even when you don't - God's got you!

#routines #rituals #focus #noise #purpose #spiritualwarfare #prayerlife

WIN - What's Important Now. Or what's important, period - February 2023

A friend loves at all times.
-Proverbs 17:17


And yeah, a coach does too.

There was a scene in an old movie that is coming to mind today
The day after tomorrow - that was the title of the movie. Some weather disaster sci fi movie. I probably slept half of the movie. Mark wanted to watch it and I fell asleep as usual, waking up here and there for random scenes. I recall a dam overflowing, and then a scene with everything freezing instantly.
And then this one scene.

A few men are in some bunker, raising a glass of scotch. It's their last toast. They know a deadly typhoon is on its way and they have no way to escape. The conversation between them:

To England.
To mankind.
To Manchester United.
I just... I just wish I could have seen him grow up. You know?
The important thing is he will grow up.
Amen.

Why am I thinking of this today, you ask?
Earlier today I was chatting with a friend over snap, she was telling me about her athletes who competed at one of the Classics, and we got to say hi to another old friend who is hosting the meet, and catch up after several years, and it was a good time. Thanks God for those phone video apps sometimes!
As I closed the app, I thought of an athlete I know, one who was supposed to also compete at that same meet. And the words that came to mind were - I should have been there, I wish I could be there. Once your coach always your coach, right? or maybe. Yea I know, coulda woulda shoulda... whatev.

And suddenly, out of the blue - that movie scene and conversation came to mind.
Yes, I wish I was there.
Yes, I wish I could see her compete.
Yes, I wish.
And yet - the important thing is she will compete. She will perform. She will succeed.
That's all that matters.
That's what's important.
That's what I pray for.

This is my prayer -
That you are healthy.
That you are happy.
That you find joy in your sport.
That you strive to improve each day.
That you take charge of your training.
That you grow.
That you hold on to your dreams.
That you go all in and make things happen.
That you give your best every day.
That you always believe.
That you succeed on your own terms.

Here's my toast - not fancy enough for scotch, my hot tea will have to do.
To your success, kid - be well, find joy, dream big, make it happen.
Love and Blessings -

Coach E.

#WIN #whatsimportant #prayer #blessings #loveyourathletes #movies #wish

My one word for 2023 - January 2023

It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
- 1 Corinthians 1:30

This will be a very short post, and yet I hope it makes you think. They asked us at church what word we have chosen to define our year 2023.
One word.

Here is mine: REDEMPTION.

My year 2023 will be about Redemption. That will be my intention for each moment.

What is your word for 2023? Feel free to reach out and share. Send you word and thoughts to info@elenasbrana.com

Coach Elena out.

#oneword #redemption

Strange season or no season - January 2023

This is fresh from New Year's Eve church service: "Some people had to leave your life. Stop crying over what left your life. Anything that is gone is not what God is going to use to bless you.
They had to go. stop talking about how it used to be when they were there. let them go.
Some doors had to be shut. You would have walked through that door and I promise it would have been a door of compromise, a door that would not be nearly as good as what God has for you."
- Paula White Cain

A new year is here. No, this is not a new year's resolutions post, or new-year-new-me thing, I don't do either one, don't worry. It's more of a reflective post, as I am looking at a time of the year that is usually very busy and supercharged, and loaded with high stakes moments. Except this time it isn't.
For the first time in a long while, I am entering a competitive gymnastics season with no competitors to work with. None - not in NCAA, not in college club, not in any private clubs. Indeed it feels quite strange, almost as your identity as a coach is somehow lessened by not actually coaching.
But is it?

I remember years ago when I retired from full time faculty of medicine service. In a way I was still a pathologist but really not a working one. And there I was, somehow lingering in limbo.
One day I was having a conversation with a dear friend, a former professional goalkeeper for a national team - and she said something that changed my perspective for good: "The fact that I am not playing on a team doesn't change that I am a goalkeeper and an Olympic Champion and a World Champion. The fact that you are not serving in a hospital does not change that you are still a doctor."

Interesting enough, here I am having some of those same thoughts. I am a gymnastics coach - and yet I am not coaching anyone. So... what now?
Clearly it's not like I'm going to stay at home doing nothing - I'm coaching shooting sports, I'm coaching mental performance for an equestrian competitor, and I teach Vinyasa flow with my boyfriend's yoga teacher - definitely staying active in the 'coaching' space in some way.
And yet, it's not the same thing.

I am away from MY sport.
My own sport.
The one that built me, and broke me, and rebuilt me again.
The one that has been my life for as long as I can remember.
I am away from my greatest love and my greatest passion and the life mission that has kept me moving for all those years. It's like some piece of me is missing from me.

So here I am, learning to start a new year without gymnastics, and learning to do January without gymnastics.
Buckle up, friends - this is going to be an interesting ride!

#season #gymnastics #competition #coaching

The villain in someone's story - December 2022

"Cast out but not forgotten
Struck down but not destroyed"
2 Corinthians 4:9

Maybe I just always want everything to be perfect, I want the truth to be known, I want everyone to know my real intent, I never want my words and actions to be perceived or interpreted in a way they were not intended...

An old proverb says the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Ain't that the truth!
Sometimes everything you do gets misinterpreted to the point of being unsalvageable.
Sometimes what you meant to be helpful is seen as an unforgivable offense in everyone else's eyes.
Sometimes you walk out as the villain in other people's stories. And no matter what you may say or do, that won't change.

I'll shut up and save my words then, and I will accept what is.
Accept that I know my intentions were not what people said or will say.
Accept that God knows the truth, and I can't change what other people think anyway.
Accept that I will be judged based on perception and not on the reality of things.
Accept that I'm already painted as the villain in this story.
And pray God to teach me, so that tomorrow I can do better and be better.

So long year 2022, definitely didn't see this one coming, and you decided to really shake things up and surprise me out of nowhere.
Sure thing you did surprise me.

An old coach once told me - go ahead and make mistakes but don't have regrets, you will learn from the mistakes.

We fall.
We dust off.
We learn.
We pray.
And with God's help we will rise again at some point.

And it's alright.
It's not about us.
It's not about what people think.
It's not about making things right.
It's about whether we help others or not, or at least whether we do or best to try to help others in some small way, even when we end up failing miserably.
And it's about always putting God first, and still trusting His Word when everything falls apart.
It's about God 's grace that saves us from our own shortcomings.

This too shall pass.
All we do is for God's glory.


#TrustGod #GodsGrace #gymnastics #coaching #makemistakes #ownyourmistakes #takeownership #extremeownership #forgiveness #prayer

That loud arrogant coach in the mirror - December 2022

"You've been thinking that people don't like you. It's not that they don't like you, they don't like the anointing that's on you. Your anointing makes them uncomfortable. And the reason they can't relax when you come into the room - because something in you is tormenting something in them.
And you say - I don't understand how come I keep falling out with people that I'm trying to be nice to. And you need to understand - it's not your actions that they hate, it's your anointing that they hate."
Bishop T.D. Jakes

Am I arrogant? I ask.
Mark laughs - of course you are. You are of Italian heritage. You are loud, direct, intense, in people's face, obnoxious, intimidating, quick to anger, really quick to anger, extremely quick to anger, LOL! You're that, AND arrogant.
He says that like it's obvious and I'm like, wait, and you are still here after like 20 years - how come you deal with this, how did you not run away from me yet??
But, yeah, at the end of the day I've always known that. So deal with it. Get over it. And be thankful he's so quiet and mellow and loving and forgiving, and he just lets me be all that is me, and just deals with it. I guess he's a keeper.

My friend Tamara says when you dislike something in others, often times that is because that character trait is reflecting something in you that you do not like to see.
And now I wonder if that's why I get annoyed when I observe someone else show up with arrogance. Well yeah, because I am arrogant myself. I don't want to be, I don't want to admit I am, but I guess I am.
I remember years ago when I was visiting a gymnastics academy and I observed a very young coach as he was arguing with the owner of the gym. And for as much as I try to not be judgemental - I was totally judging him.
Here's this dude, he's maybe 25 years old, and he is trying to tell the owner - a national team level coach with 45 years of experience, mind you - that he knows more than she does about gymnastics. I witnessed that interaction thinking like, what?? is that dude mental? How can you think you know more than she does about this sport?
Little did I know that today I'd be right here, walking in that dude's shoes!

Here I am - I did today pretty much the same thing he did back then, and I'm now the arrogant one.
Two hours ago I literally just told a coach older than me, and with maybe more than twice the years of experience I have, that I firmly believe I can do way better than she does.
No, not kidding.
I just said that.
Hey, I'm a loudmouth, in case y'all didn't know yet.

I told that coach that their best athlete on the team is making very little improvement because they use antiquated methods and they keep doing the same things over and over expecting a different outcome, which is not going to happen - and they are pretty much screwing up her chance to win and be successful in Elite competitions this season.

Yep, I'm a loudmouth, I warned y'all.

The coach was like what?? She asked me what makes me think I can help and do better, after she's trained the athlete from Level 2 to Level 10 - and I flat out told her that what they are doing at practice day in and day out is hindering and impeding the athlete's progress - and that in a different place that athlete would improve 3 times faster. It just came out of my mouth with no filter, clear and honest and with no sugar-coating - and I told her I believe they keep doing mindless numbers without the drills that are needed to improve the skills. Oh, yes - when I do open my mouth, there is absolutely no filter whatsoever.
And, because you've got to close things in style at the end of the year - I told the athlete to call me if she needs help to get ready for Elite competitions, because I know how to fix it and I know can do way better than that and way faster than that.
Yeah, for real. Oh, and by the way, that whole stunt got me kicked out of the training floor - so yes, I guess I am, indeed, arrogant.

But where is the fine line between honesty and arrogance? or between transparency and arrogance?
And when is it worth being arrogant if it could be the chance of redefining someone's career or helping them reach a higher level of the sport?
In other words, when do we choose to take the risk of being labeled arrogant, or rude, or all the worst names in the book - to speak up for what we believe to be true?

I used to tell my residents and medical students to pick their battles. I tell all my athletes the same thing - use your fighting energy for the things that are worthy of it.
When we look at our duty as coaches - our first priority has to always be the athlete's success.
Athletes come first.
Always.
So here's my guiding question - what is important now? or, as I like to say it - WIN?
For me, WIN is making sure the athlete gets the best chance. The best chance to be competitive when she enters Elite, the best chance to progress as fast as possible, the best chance to get the best out of this season.
So when the choice is - do I keep the peace and watch this progress not working, or do I say what I think and start a fire and maybe get kicked out, y'all better believe this Italian Southern Mama is gonna stand up and start a fire.

Why?
Because I know I will always get another chance, another gym to visit, other coaches to collaborate with. But what about athletes? They don't easily get do-overs.
An athlete only gets one chance at the sport - if we do not make sure we give them the best possible chance - they won't get a bunch of do-over's like we do. When we don't do things right, we could end up screwing up their one chance at being the best. And when I see that happen just because some coaches are unwilling to be open minded and change things up... you bet I'm not going to just shut up.
Hell no.
Not on my watch.
I don't care if it gets me kicked out of a competition floor - not on my watch. I will always choose to speak up and make it known that things need to change for the better.
And yes, call me arrogant, call me loud, call me rude - call me all the names you want. All fine by me. I am whatever you say I am, and I don't care. I will always choose to speak up to defend an athlete's one chance at being the best in this sport.

So there you have it, friends. Mark is right - I'm arrogant, and everything else he says. And maybe I should do better, and maybe I need to do better, and with God's grace maybe I will - but I will never back down from a fight for what I believe is right. Never have, never will, you can count on that. I have one mission in life, and that's to help athletes get better and achieve their goals, whatever it takes. Whatever it takes, yes. Even when it gets me booted out a gym floor.

Coach Elena out - going off to church for the last confession time of 2022, and I'm sure I'll get lectured by my Pastor today...

#arrogance #character #honesty #transparency #coaching

Walking out - December 2023

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
- Romans 5:3-4


Here I am, the perennial guest coach, getting ready to leave a gym I spent the last few weeks at. I gave my notice a month ago and I'm ready to head out to visit new places.
Walking out is easy, I walk out of all places all the time.
And yet there is something different this time.
Tomorrow is the last day I will spend in that gym, and something feels different - harder to leave in some way.
You do not know how hard it is to leave, until you have to walk away from the one in a million that can actually make it, the one athlete in a million that can make it happen. And you know you leave them surrounded by people that have no idea what level of talent and greatness they're looking at, and apparently have either no clue or no intention how to help the athlete develop and grow to the level they can reach.

There is no pain like it, you never forget it, and it never goes away.
You just learn to live with it, and you keep praying that someday somehow someone else will find that athlete and see the potential in them and believe in them and help them reach the highest level.

Yep.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
And it's going to been a long heavy walk down those stairs.


#athletes #coaching #pain #sports

Grateful. Yes - and what for? - December 2022

Years ago, a medical student gave me a two-faced medal with a paraphrased quote from Albert Einstein. One side of the medal read "You can live like nothing is a miracle" and the other side read "You can live like everything is a miracle" - and I bet y'all can figure out which side speaks to me.

I believe in miracles.
Everyday miracles.
Magnificent miracles.
Small miracles.
Bold miracles.
Unseen miracles.
And all of the above.

I will always be the one that walks on the path of life looking for miracles and signs from God.
I know He sees, I know He listens - and I know He answers our prayers in His timing and in His way. And while those may not always - or seldom - match our ways, how we thought or hoped things would unfold, He always answers nevertheless.

As we get close to the end of the year, we think of where we are, where we've been this year, and where we are going.
If your family is anything like us - well, that will give you some thinking, considered both of us constantly travel all over the country. So here we are looking at what's coming next. He's planning a permanent move from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in March, while I just got back almost full time to my hometown of Houston, after splitting my time with Washington State for the past several years.
And while Mark is almost set on his move to Vegas - I'm yet not 100% sure I'm going to stay home, and not even that I'm going to stay in Texas for that matter. I'm not where I want to be professionally, not convinced this is my best option - and I'm contemplating moving to another state for a while - looking at Idaho, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Alabama... and I don't even know.

A few weeks ago a dear friend said to me - if you don't know where you are going you can't get lost.
Wow.
Back then we always used to hear that if you don't know where you are going you can't get there.
What a complete perspective shift!
I guess I can't get lost then, because I clearly do not know where I am going next. I'm going to stick around and stay in Houston for another few weeks for sure, and then we will see. South Dakota, Utah, and Idaho are the top candidates right now - I want 2A friendly states, I want states that value our American values and our Freedom, and clearly that's what I am used to, being from Texas. I want nature, and I want to be near great hunting land. So yes, UT, ID, and SD check all the right boxes. Not sure about the cold - I like my 100 degrees in South Texas - but having survived snow and ice up North the past 5 plus years, I know I can deal with it and survive, so there's that.

And here I am - asking God for a sign, or even a miracle.
A sign that leads me where I should go - where I am needed to do work that gives Him the glory. Or a sign that gives me, if that's God's plan for my life, a reason to stay here in Texas for longer. A sign to go or a reason to stay.
And maybe a miracle - like for once we could both decide to move to the same city and maybe I can convince the PR guy to move where I am going, instead of both always living the nomadic life of adventure we have chosen.
In the big scheme of things - I know it's a choice be both made, and we wouldn;t change it for the world, even when that means dealing with the hardship of spending weeks apart.

And this is how we both choose to live. Being grateful for the moments we get to spend together, being grateful for the adventures we get to experience - and looking at life like everything is a miracle.
Because it is.

"I believe in You
I believe in You
You are the God of miracles"
- Kari Jobe

#TrustGod #gratitude #miracles #manifesting #desires

One speed: mine - December 2022

"When God puts a dream in your heart, you have to cut off any alternative options to give up and just go for it"
- Terri Savelle Foy

Dear athletes - please get rid of plan B. Get rid of the alternative options. Enter a room with no exits.
You want success? The number one choice to make is having one plan - plan A.
All or nothing.
Win it all.

The question you've got to ask is - how bad do you want it?

You can have fast progress and success, or you can have comfort and excuses, you can't have both.
And if you do choose comfort and excuses, that's perfectly fine by me - I will wish you all the best and I will get out of your way ASAP.
If you do want it bad - if your dreams light a fire in your heart - then we may have some common goals.
Do you want to level up fast?
Do you want to be the best?
Do you want to dream big and reach your goals no matter what?
If the answer is yes, then you are in the right place.

There's a few things however, that you will need to leave at the door:
1- excuses
No one cares. Let me say it louder for the people in the back: NO.ONE.CARES. Everyone has a sob story, everyone has a good reason, everyone has everything and anything - we just don't care - work harder, move faster, get tougher, get it done, own it.
2- laziness
Sorry not sorry, no. If you don't plan to do the work, walk away now. If you plan to give a half-hearted effort, walk away now. If you are holding on to a plan B just in case - walk away now.
3- indecision
Tire kicking is not allowed here. We go all in. When we work together, your goals become my life mission - I go all in. You have to do the same. There is going to be one speed - mine. And that's fast. No looking back, no turning back - we will run fast and burn all bridges behind us. Indecision is the enemy.

This isn't a fluffy kumbaya care bear safe space. No care bear Motherfuckers here.
There's no sugarcoating here. Oh, and there's language. And if you are offended by cuss words, well, dilligaf?
I will call you out on your BS excuses, I'll be in your face, I'll be intense, I'll be loud, maybe I'll be rude, maybe I will offend you, and for damn sure I will put you under a lot of pressure, and very likely I will make you the heck uncomfortable, a lot.
Now you know what you are getting into.
We give it to you raw and honest here - and that's what gives you the power to own your process and your journey and your success, and the tools and strength to handle anything that gets in your way along the path.
At some point you've got to give up that mother***ing care bear attitude that is everywhere in the sports coaching space, and decide that you want to win. And when you do, that means step up and bulldoze down your path as fast as you can, and step on the throat of anything and anyone that gets in the way without a second thought.

There is going to be one effort level: all in.
There is going to be one speed: blazing fast.
There is going to be one rule: we do whatever it takes.

No limits.
No holds barred.
No excuses.

The plan is simple:
we believe
we pray
we do the work
we go all in
we move fast
we keep going no matter what
we never give up
we win
we win it all
we give God glory

Let's go!

#TrustGod #coaching #noexcuses #dreams #goals #desires #goforthandconquer #nolimits #goforit #winitall #choices

Says Who? - November 2022

Thank you to my friend and gymnastics hall of famer Mary Wright, who just published a book. I am reading the first few pages of it, and something spoke to me right away. I figured I would share Mary's words with y'all, and some random thoughts.
"We never have all the answers, and many mistakes are made because we think we know." - Mary Wright

One thing I used to tell my residents when I was faculty of Medicine was this:
If there is only one thing I teach you, only one thing you learn from me, from this time together, it is to always question everything.
ALWAYS.QUESTION.EVERYTHING.
Doesn't matter what book it's written on, who says it, what leading authority it came from.
Always question everything.
See with your own eyes, think with your own mind, discern with your own heart.
Always question everything.

As athletes and student athletes we hear plenty of opinions every minute. Everyone has an opinion of us or a piece of (often unsolicited) advice to give us. Everyone knows what it is that we should do.
But do they?

More gold medals have been won and championship trophies have been hoisted by athletes who proved someone (or everyone) wrong than anything else.
Whatever was said to you, you are under no obligation to agree with it.
Other people may have plenty of opinions, and that's something we cannot change. But you can choose to not believe them. You can choose to not be one of them.
All that you hear is just noise. The opinion of other people is just noise. What your friends, family, teammates, coaches, and the people on the street think about you is just noise.
The only thing that matters is what you desire, what you believe, and what you work for. All of this is in your hands and in the hands of God.

Does it help to be supported, to have someone that believes in you? of course it does, and the more the better. But don't you ever let someone else's opinion stop you from becoming the best you can be.
And to anyone who says you are not good enough, just say "WATCH ME" and prove them all wrong.

#WATCHME #provethemwrong #winitall #Believe

Welcoming discomfort - November 2022

"When there's discomfort, it will make you make changes, it will make you move things around. And sometimes God will allow discomfort to come into your life because He wants your attention."
- Bishop T.D. Jakes

I always tell my athletes that I want them to welcome and embrace discomfort on purpose. And often times, I make them uncomfortable on purpose.
Read that again - especially if you are reading this blog to decide whether to reach out about working with me. I routinely make people uncomfortable on purpose. I WILL make you uncomfortable on purpose.
I want to make you so happy with discomfort that you will choose to live outside your comfort zone. You will choose to make your life purposefully uncomfortable.
And I will create discomfort on purpose to get you to that stage.
Get used to being uncomfortable.
Make your life uncomfortable on purpose.
Make your life hard on purpose.
Embrace what makes you uncomfortable.
Welcome situations and people that make you uncomfortable - recognize that sometimes God will put your help in a vessel that's completely different from what you expect or want to see.
Actively seek discomfort, and see how it elevates you to the next level.

#discomfort #change #reinvention #innovation #levelup #embracediscomfort #screwthecomfortzone

A D score is just a number - November 2022

Have you ever heard people say 'age is only a number'? Well, the same applies to D scores.

The last balance beam clinic I coached at somehow suprised me with the approach that many coaches take to routine building on the beam.
An often too common approach is to just take someone's L9 or L10 routine and pretty much tell an athlete good luck, like, hey, vaya con Dios. And they know too well they won't be nearly close to being competitive, and it's like no one even cares.
What the heck? Did y'all even read the CoP?

Granted not everyone easily learns new skills or masters upgrades, I get it. However, when at least 9 athletes in a clinic upgrade enough skills in 3 days to gain 0.3 to 0.5 total on their D-score, that tells me that back home in their gym no one even made the effort to try. Which begs the question of whether we are doing the best for our athletes, or do we tend to settle and get... welp, that word... comfortable?

Coaches, please - let's do better. Let's take the time to take a good look at where our athletes are and where they can go - and once we do identify the gap, let's put in the effort to help them bridge it and level up their routines.

Comfort is the enemy of growth. Everything we ever desire will be outside of our comfort zone. We need to get used to it. And we need to model being purposefully uncomfortable - we owe it to our athletes to do that. We owe it to them to show them we choose to take calculated risks. We owe it to them to show them we choose to believe.
Let's choose to level up.
Let's choose to believe in our athletes.
Let's choose to help our athletes believe in themselves.

#Dscore #elite #FIGCoP #elitecode #routine #BB #balancebeam #beam #gymnastics #coaching

Coaches, shut up and listen - November 2022

A week ago I was coaching at a balance beam clinic. A choreographer and another coach were doing the sessions on artistry and dance, and I had the beam skills upgrade sessions.

There was a large whiteboard in the gym, on the wall by the balance beams. After the first two responses, with coaches pretty much talking over the athletes about what they thought the upgrades should be, I walked straight to the whiteboard and took a marker to write two sentences in all caps.
ATHLETES, SPEAK UP
COACHES, SHUT UP AND LISTEN

What followed was some giggling from the gymnasts and frowns on a few coaches' faces - but hey, it worked. The next person I questioned was able to respond with their own ideas, rather than being interrupted by a coach telling them what to do instead. That was exactly my goal. And that's what I want to share on the blog today.

Athletes, please speak up. Learn to be more assertive. Learn to honor your own ideas and decisions and opinions, and put the stake in the sand to establish the boundaries you need.
The most important step in your path to excellence is to take ownership of your training, and be in charge of your own training.

We are here to help, but we do not read minds and we do not have the right answer to every situation. No one does - no matter what they claim. Coaching is a partnership - to reach the highest levels we need each other, and we need to work together.

Honor your own answers - remember, you always carry the answer for something or somebody. When you let doubt or fear stop you, and do not share your ideas, it's almost as you are denying your gift. By not giving your ideas, your answer, your contribution to the process, you are holding yourself back.
Be brave, even when that means - just do it, do it afraid.
Speak up. Share your thoughts and ideas. Be assertive. Take ownership. Take charge.
You are the one in charge.

And Coaches, let's change this today.
Let's choose to be open minded, let's choose to actively listen to our athlete's opinions and ideas, and let's choose to make the coaching process a partnership.

Yes, I recognize that starting conversations is hard, and yet the only hard thing about it is taking the first step.
Just start somewhere - and it doesn't always have to be something strictly technical. Just ask your athletes questions and let them voice their thoughts:
-How are you feeling today
-What is going on in your life outside gymnastics
-What do you want to accomplish today
-What do you think you need to reach your goal
-How may we be of help and serve you today
-How would you like to be held or supported today

You will find your own questions - it doesn't have to be perfect, it will be an iterative process with trial and error. It will be strange, feel weird, look way out of line, be uncomfortable, and maybe make people uncomfortable at first.
But you know what? The changes that will come from it are worth the effort.
Take the first step.
Start somewhere.
And please make the effort to start today.

#listen #gymnastics #sports #athletics #coach #coaching #culture #ownership #extremeownership #assertiveness

Vision - October 2022


Yesterday I took some extra time for Church, and listened to a Bible study session from a few months back. Somehow I managed to convince my boyfriend to listen with me - which was quite a success since I'm never able to drag him to church in person.

It was a study discussion about vision. But what is vision?
"Vision is a mental picture of my future that is forceful enough to mold my present."
-Paula White Cain

Wait, you say, vision is what? Yes, a mental picture, an image on the inside. A mental picture of the future. This is why visualization is so important for all of us.

God shows us a future state that is forceful enough to mold our present. That vision will begin to move us from season to season - and this movement is rooted in faith: faith in the word that God has given us.

In Ezekiel chapter 37, God asked a very specific question. You need to ask yourself this question a lot: Can these bones live again?
It is a central question that we need to answer in the training/coaching process as we move towards our goals and dreams - following our vision. Every step we take towards our vision is a step away from something in the past. We gain something, we give up something. We have to let some things go in order to grow and walk towards our vision.

Can these dry bones live again? Ezekiel 37 is fundamental because it teaches us about discernment. Because we all get to forks in the road where we need to make decisions. Do I stay or do I go, do I go left or do I go right, should I be here or should I be there?
Hence the question from God. Some bones are dead, some doors are shut, God shut them - and the risk is, without proper discernment we may spend a lot of energy and time and effort trying to resurrect something that God is done with.
And what it's really about is - how do I discern an ending, it's over, from a laying down in a coma that God can resurrect?

And if you want to see progress you need to answer the question. The miracle is in the movement. And you're going to rise and move on, in the name of Jesus.
Can these dry bones live again? When something is dry it needs life and needs ruah, the breath of God, the breath of life.
Of course we know how the story ends in Ezekiel, God said to speak to the bones for a mighty army to rise. Yes, rise. A mighty army is only a prayer away from you. Say to the dry bones - hear the word of the Lord.
The Lord commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones. Prophesy in the Hebrew means speak or sing by inspiration out of your spirit. Prophesy to the dry bones - hear the word of the Lord, rise. Mighty army, rise.
You see it's what's in your spirit that causes those dry bones to hear, come on and stand up and come together.
Remember - everything is possible when you have Faith and Vision.
To have a vision is to look, to behold, to prophesy, to see. What we behold we become. So when you prophesy, when you visualize and speak your vision, you're speaking by what you see in your spirit.
As the Lord said to Ezekiel - you're just one prayer away from this mighty army rising up for you.

May God give you discernment to know when something is over and when something needs breath when something needs ruah, and when something needs closure.
May everything that needs the breath of God receive it today. May ruah come to you, may you get a spirit on the inside of you that rises up and you say breathe on this, breathe on my mind, breathe on my body, breathe on these dry bones, you're not through with me God, you're not through with this situation, you're not through with this relationship.
If you seek ruah today, may God grant your desires. One encounter with God can change absolutely everything. Just one encounter with God.


And maybe now you wonder - what if discernment leads you the other way, towards closure?
God helps you through the closure of the thing that He is done with. This is where it's hard and we need the vision. Think about Moses and his death, and the beginning of the book of Joshua.
Moses died in the land of Moab. He was buried in the valley, and the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for 30 days.
And after the death of Moses, here we are in Joshua 1 verse 1 - the Lord is speaking to Joshua, Moses's Minister, and what the Lord says to Joshua is: "Moses my servant is dead, now therefore arise."
That's it.
Moses my servant is dead, now therefore arise.
Now therefore arise.
And the main point is: arise, be strong and courageous, move forward, go over the Jordan, and you'll possess the land and all.

The book of Joshua is a very transitional book. It speaks of movement. It shows us the miracle is in the movement.
Our training process is continuous improvement, continuous movement, continuous evolution.
We wonder how do I do this, how do I get into my future? We have that vision and mental image, a picture on the inside of us, given to us by God, by the holy spirit.
The vision is a God planted seed that is planted in our spirit and is made real in our imagination, in our mind. And so when we transition from visualization to making the dream into reality, we literally are passing from one place to another place, like the children of Israel crossing over the Jordan.
we're leaving one place and we're going to another place. But here's the problem: we are going through the Jordan. The Jordan is a low place. The Jordan is no man's land.
And about crossing the Jordan, God says - if you can get over it I will get you through it. God says if you get over it I'll get you through it.
It's your obedience to go through that difficult place, that if you get over it I'll get you through it and to the other side.
Did you ever leave somewhere, and then you got stuck in the middle of nowhere, before you got somewhere else?
Because it's some transitions that are so difficult: that's my old somewhere, that's my new somewhere - and yet I'm stuck right here in the middle of nowhere, like Joshua leading his people through the Jordan.
When we're training, we are people that are evolving, we are leveling up, we are in the process.
We know we are going from glory to glory to glory to however many dreams and miracles of glory...
We know our goals and dreams, we know God is leading us there, we know we will realize them - and yet the process, the in between, can be a difficult place. No man's land. We know God is doing the work in the process, in the in between. And yet while we are being processed by God, while we are being prepared, that's where our challenges can get us in the in between. That's why what we deeply believe is what saves us.

We are always learning and training, and we are always in this process.
When people watch the process they often get confused, because it's like watching life evolve. It's hard to believe we are even the same person when we come out of the process forged by God.

In the New Testament Jesus talks a lot about transformation. Transformation comes with loss. God causes people to be loosened from your life, situations to fall off your life, some old people and old ways of thinking are shedding off your life - God causes losses for you to let go of what would hold you back.
God is making room for your destiny.

Believe in yourself
Believe in the God that you serve
Believe in the future that God has for you
Believe in this process

God's taking you to something new.
Do not fear the process.
Getting to the perfect place that Jesus has for you is often an ugly process. Possessing the promised land is often an ugly process. It is an ugly process.
Do not lose heart - trust the process.
Do not allow anyone or anything to disturb your process.
People may try to label you and define you when you're in the process, and it can be disturbing because it can get you stuck and hinder your progress and growth and transformation.
Ignore the noise.
The only thing that matters is your vision. What you desire. What you pray for. What you believe. What you take inspired intentional action towards.
Everything else is just noise.
If you care about the opinion of others, you're going to get disturbed in the process, if you care about social media you are going to get disturbed, if you care about the stuff on the ground more than the stuff in the heavens you are going to get disturbed.
Do not get disturbed in your process.

Like the children of Israel, you're evolving. You cannot possess your future if you're stuck in the past.
Move.
Your miracle is in the movement.
Your miracle is in the process.
Trust your process

And that's what vision and prophecy are all about. Prophecy is an invitation for you to process, to believe, to see what God will be doing with your life.
God's prophecy begins to shift you, shift the way you see things. Vision begins to shift you, it's a mental picture of your future, of the plan God has for you - that is forceful enough to mold your present, so that you're prepared to get to the place where all your dreams and desire become real.
A word, a prophetic word is more of an invitation for you to walk in the process that God has for you. God is telling what is going to happen, but you've got to step up and contend for your prophecy. You've got to rise in the name of Jesus because your miracle is in the movement.

Your vision will take you there.
Looking at the promises of God on the other side of the Jordan. Everywhere you look you will see the promises of God.
The miracle is in the movement. You're going over to the promised land.
You are going over in Jesus name.

Trust the process. Take full responsibility of yourself. Ask yourself questions:
-am I afraid of not knowing what is ahead?
-do I believe in myself?
-do I believe God's promises in my heart?
-What resources do I need?
-What support do I need?
-What will give me strength on the way?

Make a list of your gifts and your talents.
Surround yourself with people who know you well, who can help you get into the place that God has for you.
Keep some provisions to take you through the process.
Keep your focus on the vision, on the promise.

God always gives you something from your last season to carry over and take you through to the next season. God knows you learned something and you lost something. If you take what you learned you will make it through the loss.

I pray for strength.
I pray for stability.
I pray for fortitude.
I play for encouragement.
I pray for you in the name of Jesus.

#Joshua #Moses #drybones #Ezekiel #transformation #process #training #vision #visualization #believe #faith

MOMENTS - September 2022

"These were very special moments. I always enjoyed stumbling across a new talent when I was least expecting it. Very rarely do you see something so astonishing that you sense it arrived from another world. These moments–and players–are the reward for a lifetime of careful watching"
- Sir Alex Ferguson


I visited a random new gym yesterday, as I'm checking out a few places to figure out where I will guest coach for the next few weeks. It is a large gym, beautiful space, and it was an interesting experience.
One of those instances when your mind thinks something but it's like God's voice tells you to do something else?
Yep, one of those moments - those that always make life interesting.

I spent a few hours there, and it was quite clear that while it is a fantastic gym - it is not a fit for me. They do not need a beam coach, and we have pretty much wide opposite methods and approach, so yes, it's awesome, however not going to work.
Towards the end of practice I met a few of the athletes, and one of them asked me to watch her floor routine.
And I said alright.
And I did.
And I'm glad I did.

You know those moments when you almost have a revelation of what the floor exercise should be. A vision, an experience of all that we want to see in the athletes that reach the highest level. A combination of talent, and character, and drive, and artistry, and passion, and performance - all at once. A routine that shows the storytelling I always advocate in my clinics - driving the audience in, performing, showing joy and drama and artistic dance.

There it is - the one athlete in a million that can make it. The one in a million that can make a run for the highest level. The one you see once in a lifetime if you are lucky - and maybe two or three times in a lifetime if your coaching career is really blessed.

Right there, right in front of my eyes - the one in a million that can make it happen, and make a run for a World Championship medal, or an Olympic medal. The athlete of a lifetime.

Do these people even know what they have here??? Why is this girl not in Elite training already? These thoughts just crossed my mind as I was ready to go talk to the owner - and ready to say thanks but no thanks, this is not the place for me.
And then it's like something got hold of me, like a subtle though saying you can't leave yet. Not yet. She is going to need your help someday, you can't leave yet, just hold on, spend some time here, don't leave yet.

And you always wonder how do you discern in the moment - are thoughts from God or are they distraction from the enemy? That's a question I constantly ask when something comes to mind out of nowhere.
Because let's face it - spiritual warfare is real, and sometimes the enemy is so good at deception and lies, that he can confuse many Christians. But as Paul said - God gave us weapons of the spirit... and we have tools to discern. Is this in alignment with the Word of God - or against it? Is this going to help someone - or could it cause harm? Will this bring people closer to God - or push them away? You can tell when things come from above, or when the enemy is trying to derail your course.

And so I did not say thanks but no thanks.
Interesting, right?
I said I'll think about it while I visit some other places.
And maybe I will and maybe I won't - and I've got a lot of praying and questioning to do. But one thing I know - yesterday I was blessed with a vision of an amazing athlete.
And I agree with Sir Alex Ferguson: "Very rarely do you see something so astonishing that you sense it arrived from another world" - very rarely indeed. And I give thanks when I am blessed with those moments.


#talent #athletes #performance #blessings

What makes a champion? - September 2022

You must see yourself the way God sees you.
- Terri Savelle Foy

The other day I had lunch with a friend who coaches tennis. He was talking about athletes and how everyone takes a different path, and asked me an interesting question: how do you recognize someone who could become a champion?
My answer was I see that they already are champions. I know one when I see it. It's part gut feeling and part observation of what they behave like and how they deal with sports and life. Sports are, in a way, a reflection of life.

What does a champion look like?
He takes ownership and responsibility. He owns the process, he enjoys preparation and thrives on uncertainty. He is never satisfied, always wants more, always strives to be better. He does more - works more, gives more effort, shows more passion, goes the extra mile. He is open to new ideas and change and seeks constant evolution. He embraces discomfort in everything. He shows awareness of his physical and mental condition. He takes care of teammates and supports them as they need. He believes in his goals and is committed to doing whatever it takes to reach them. He never gives up and never backs down. He goes all in.


Is this a checklist? of course not - but that's what I have observed in everyone I've met who has reached elite level in any sport. This is what I watch for - and those who show these qualities and behaviors are the ones I focus my efforts on.

My friend asked a follow up question. And that was a complicated one. Life has a way of complicating things sometimes...
What do you do - he asked - when you see someone who can be a champion, but they do not believe it?
Dang. That's a tough one. And truth be told, my answer was - and is - I do not know.
I really don't. I believe in them, I show them I do, I try to help them build belief and faith - but in the end, you can only borrow faith for some time. At some point it has to come from within.

We had an interesting exchange of ideas about how to help someone build confidence, and create their own new belief system - and grow their faith through the training process.
And what happened next is I picked up the lunch receipt, turned it around, and started writing on it.
You know those moments when you just need to put pen to paper because the words just won't come out? Well yeah, one of those moments. Lost for words. Spoken words, at least.
And here's what I wrote on the receipt and gave to him.
Understand I'm not a poet, never wrote a poem in my life - this just came out this way, and I'm not cleaning it up nor embellishing it. That's what goes through my head when I watch a champion train.

Dear Athlete -
I wish I could lend you my eyes
I wish you could see what I see
If I only could
Let you borrow my vision
You would realize how amazing you are
All you can do
All you can be
If I only could
I wish you could see the greatness I am in awe of
Every time I look at you
And I see the great champion you are

#Champion #Character #Excellence #Grit #Faith #Confidence

Planted or Buried - September 2022

The other day at church I heard something that stopped me in my tracks. Thank you Lisa Bevere and Bianca Olthoff for the wake up call.
In a season of hardship, we will shrink and bury a dream that God had put in our heart. A dream that we were meant to plant and grow and make into reality. A dream that was our God-given call, that we were meant to follow and build upon. A long season of hardship will do that to us.

It made me realize that I am not immune.
I, too, have buried a few dreams, when seasons of hardship hit. I didn't really plant them, I buried them, silenced the call, and focused purely on survival.

Am I speaking to anyone here?
What dreams did you give up on?
What dreams have you buried, that you know in your heart were part of your higher call, your life purpose?
What dreams did you hide down into the ground, that you were called to create, and plant, and grow?

Dreams do not fade.
Dreams are not lost.
Dreams are not destroyed.

Rekindle that fire.
That dream, that buried seed - can be recovered, and planted, and tended to.
That seed can grow and be called into existence with faith and work and perseverance.
Dry bones can come back to life.

Let's go dig out those seeds today, let's go create, let's go do real solid work on our dreams, and plant them, and nurture them, and grow them, and shape them into reality.
Let's make those dreams come true - and give God the glory.

#Dreams #Goals #Believe #Revival #Create #MakeItHappen #DreamsComeTrue

The ones who walk away - September 2022

"The bottom line is: our potential is one thing. What we do with it, is quite another."
- Mary Wright

Everything in life is choice.
Sometimes as coaches we look at athletes and we see where they could go as they follow their dreams. Sometimes however, dreams change over time. Athletes take different paths, make different choices - and sometimes choose to quietly bow out of the sport.

And that's always a lesson for us - a lesson in being comfortable with silence, and holding space, and allowing them to take the path that suits them best.
Because what we see and believe and dream for them really doesn't matter.
The only thing that matters is what they want, what they desire, what they dream, and what they choose to do.

And sometimes that choice is to say goodbye to the sport - and to be at peace with that decision.
And it is our job to hold space for them, give them the freedom they desire, and be at peace with all of it.

#choice #sport

Jack of all trades, or slasher maybe - August 2022

jack of all trades
master of none
oftentime better
than a master of one

For the longest time I've been convinced that there was something wrong with me and my different careers. Yes I have heard the jokes about a Jack (or Jane) of all trades, and also about how multiple specializations, or delving into multiple specialized careers, may hinder progress and actual mastery.
Doubt - and self doubt - have been my companions for a long time in this space. And then, a book recommendation by my friend Nadya Zexhembayeva changed everything.
If you are, like me, a 'jack of all trades' - go ahead and read 'One person, multiple careers' and embrace being a 'slasher'.

Jack of all trades master of none. That's how I've always thought of myself. A jack of all trades. Even at home, growing up, I was the jack of all trades. How to changed a sink faucet, okay let's figure it out and work with plumbing tools. Change car oil? Yeah alright, diy. Build some drywall? Done. Fix the wiring behind the workshop bench in the garage? Let's go. The idea around the house was simple. Big jobs, we call the professionals; small job, Elena will take care of it.
Jack of all trades.
In sports, I was the jack of all trades.
Competed gymnastics JO up to level 10 and then was a student athlete in college club as a beam and floor specialist. Competed show jumping to 1.55m courses, and then dressage. Coached gymnastics WAG and MAG, coached Muay Thay Boran, Olympic shooting sports, strength and conditioning, yoga, TRX... you name it.
Professional life outside of sports was no different. When it came to carve a path in life, I chose very specialized trades. And yes, I said trades, plural. And no, it's not a spelling error. It's there to say multiple specialized trades.
I chose to be a photographer as a teenager - and learned by assisting in a commercial photography studio doing industrial and architectural work. And later I branched out into pro Motorsports and pro sports through corporate partners.
I chose to be a doctor - and became a pathologist. Again choosing a specialized area - perinatal autopsy pathology.
I chose to learn about safety, security, weapons, and protection, and became a threat assessment specialist focused on protective details for public figures in the entertainment industry.
I chose to stay connected with gymnastics as a beam and floor specialist and coaching mental performance and strength and conditioning.
Jack of all trades.

For a long time, following the way the general public uses the term, I figured it was a disadvantage.
Jack of all trades meant I was less of a photographer than all the other photographers. Less of a doctor then all other doctors. Less of a coach than all other coaches. Less of a protector than all other protectors. Less of a firearms instructor than all other firearms instructors.
Less than everyone else that just did one thing, chose one path, fit in one identity.
Here I was, Jack of all trades, with the immediate assumption that there's no way I could do all of them well.

A friend looked at me the other day and laughed. You are a renaissance woman, he said. What the heck is a Renaissance woman??? A Renaissance woman is someone who has no box.
Some people, he said, are not supposed to fit in boxes. They are not even supposed to think outside the box.
Some people simply have no box, they just roam freely and carve their own path in life. And that path sometimes becomes multiple intersecting paths that go winding through and interconnect in unpredictable ways.

If you look at your path in life and you see multiple lines, I want you to know that you are not alone.
You have no box.
Quit trying to find one that fits you - you won't.
Roam free.
Enjoy the freedom of living life outside the limits of preconceived boxes.
Embrace being a renaissance woman.

And then - find the common thread. There is always a common thread. There are always intersections.
It may seem at first that we delve into completely unrelated things. It seems like there's no rhyme or reason, and maybe there isn't or maybe there is. And often times there is.

The truth is that yes in all those trades maybe I'm not a master. And yet there is only one thing I do well there's only one thing I can do. I can coach. I can get someone to perform at their best at their peak in whichever area they perform.
I've done that in sports, medicine, martial arts, self-defense, consulting, photography.

How does that happen?
How do I do that - I cut out excuses. I take away what's inefficient. I cut out what doesn't work - all the drama, the fluff, the excuses, the ifs and the buts... it all goes away.
Because at the end of the day, when you're facing a surgery, or race track, or a balance beam, or a dressage arena, or a target 750 yards away, or an extreme danger situation - well in that moment, nothing else matter other than how you perform.
You have one chance.
Everything else doesn't matter. No one cares. All else is noise.
It doesn't matter what your mother said to you when you were five, and what you think you're not worthy of, or not good enough, or what happened yesterday, or whether your leg hurts and you think you can't even move.
No one cares.
It doesn't matter.
The only thing that matters is you are alone, you have to perform right then and there.
You got one chance.
There's no one there to help you, there's no one there to give you a hand, it's do or die, It's all or nothing, it's one chance you have, only one chance - and you've got to make it work because it's all you have.

That's all I do - I'm a coach. I help you get to where you can get it done when you get your one chance.

I'm a coach. I help you perform at your best. That's it. That's the one and only thing I do and know how to do.
Everywhere I go, I coach. Everywhere I've been, I've coached.
I coached my Department Chairman when I was faculty of medicine in a hospital. And he created higher revenue and new programs and increased efficiency in our department patient care.
I coached athletes (I still do, both mental performance and artistic gymnastics and shooting sports) and they won everything and anything from a local competition to a World Championship or an Olympic medal.
I coached students and residents as a faculty member, and they went on to be amazing doctors and open private practices all over the country.
I coach regular everyday law-abiding citizens who want to learn self defense and get a concealed carry permit and keep themselves and their families safe.
That's it, I coach. That's my purpose.
And I'm still a jack of all trades.
And it's alright by me.

#coach #jackofalltrades #specialization #career #lifemission #mission #vision #purpose

Like the Olympics - August 2022

"whatever you do, do all things to the glory of God"
- 1 Corinthians 10:31

I remember a friend that often used to coach with me at competitions. Every time at a meet I would check the beam surface, and add chalk here and there. Or go chalk the bars, and she'd be like "Elena, it's good enough. You prep bars like Olympics, this is just level 9" (or level 10, or 8, or whatever that meet was).
And we'd laugh together, and I would keep prepping the bars however I wanted them.

Because what if it is like the Olympics to someone?
For one athlete out there today, it may be.
It may be their one chance.
Maybe their last chance.
Maybe their last routine before something separates them from the sport.
Maybe the last routine ever before they retire.
Maybe the one chance they get to be seen and recruited.
Maybe the last moment to find joy in their sport.
Maybe the last time they get to perform in a competition ever.
How do we know?

Just think of the seniors in 2020 who never got to finish their competition season before the entire world shut down.
Think of how many athletic careers were ended by injuries.
One chance.
Right here.
Right now.
This moment.

If this moment is all we have, would you leave that one chance in the hands of 'good enough'?

Good enough is the enemy of great.
There is no good enough.
There is the best you can do, or it's just a half-hearted effort.
There is 100% or there's nothing.
Good enough ain't it.
We don't do good enough around here.
We go all in.

We live in a one chance sport.
This moment is all we have.
This one chance is all we will ever get.
Some of us learned it the hard way - we never got a second chance.
Many of us never will.

And that's why I check the beam and prep the bars like it's an Olympic final.
Because for some of us it is.

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things"
- 1 Corinthians 9:24

#Olympics #mindset #coaching #onechance #gymnastics #integrity

Ask and it is given - July 2022

There was a time when I held on to that book for dear life.
So many principles in there are really the same as we read in the Bible.

Ask and it is given.

It's really a simple concept:
God puts a desire in your heart
You ask your Father in Heaven - aka, you pray! ya know... prayer changes things
You believe that you have received
You praise the Lord with thanksgiving
You take inspired intentionally aligned action - aka you do the work
And it will happen

Yep - that simple. And I said simple, take note - I didn't say easy. It's simple, it ain't easy.

It's all in the Bible by the way, Mark 11:24 - so if it didn't sound familiar maybe that's a sign that you need to go and spend some time with your Bible today. Just sayin'

And remember the truth piece here is that you need to do the work. Otherwise you will just be like that people that go out and read The Secret and then sit on their sofa and want to manifest an Aston Martin overnight in the garage. Well that ain't gonna work. Or as we say it in my hometown of Houston, Texas, ain't finna work. You've got to take action if you expect that Aston Martin to show up.
Inspired action.
Intentional action.
Aligned action.


Before all that however, you've got to ask. The first step is to ask.

If you don't ask
The answer will always be no

If you don't go after what you want
You will never have it

If you don't step forward
You will always be in the same place

Make the ask.

#ask #manifestation #askanditisgiven #lawofattraction #Mark1124 #maketheask #Godlistens #believe

Justice VS fairness - July 2022

There is no fairness in my world. I believe in justice, not fairness.

Here's your reading for today: Matthew 25:15

If you are looking for fairness, do not look this way. I am not your coach.
I believe in justice - there is no place for fairness in my world.
What we do with the gifts God gave to us matters. How we help and lead others matters. What legacy we choose to create matters.

You will never see me treat everyone equally. Never happened, never will.
I will lay heavy pressure on some, and light loads on others. Different level of expectations and intentions, different requirements and workload, different corrections and expectations, different planning, different communication and interaction.

What you do have, each and every one of you, is my word that all of the above is deliberate and intentional, and the purpose is to help you recognize your available options, grow your awareness, be in charge of your training, and develop skills and tools that will lead you on the way to achieving your goals and making your dreams into reality.
Everything is deliberate.
Everything is intentional.

Those under the heaviest pressure are also the ones that will be protected and rewarded the most.
My world, my rules.

Pressure is a privilege.
No pressure no diamonds.

#justice #beintentional #bedeliberate #pressure #pressureisaprivilege #nopressurenodiamonds

Sitting on stairs - June 2022

I've always been the one sitting on stair steps. At functions and stuff, when all seats were taken, or when the available seats weren't appealing to me - I'd be there one sitting on the stair steps. People would offer to give up their seats, and I'd be oh no, please be comfortable, I'm great here, I love it here.
When I was faculty of medicine, some colleagues didn't understand why I let my residents and students have the nice chairs and seats in the auditoriums, and I'd be on the side, or in the back, sitting on stair steps. And I was like, it's all good, believe me, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.

This is home to me.
It's who I am.
Here with y'all, but not really one of y'all.
A teammate, and yet an outsider.
Someone who belongs here, and yet doesn't.
Invisible, and yet seen.
And really, there's more.

Because the goal is saying no to comfort.
I'm not sitting to relax, I'm sitting as a transition time.
I'm in between.
Everything is intentional. I am intentionally choosing what some people perceive as discomfort.
I don't want to be comfortable, I want to be ready.
One of my colleagues once said the way I sit on stair steps makes me look like I am ready to pounce, run, jump, move quickly, react.
And I am.
It is intentional.
Always ready.

And then there's another truth.
You see, stair steps are home to me.
They are familiar to me.
They are the place I know.

I used to sit on stair steps a lot when I was younger.
Big old stadium stair steps, gymnastics center stair steps, gymnasium stair steps, bleachers... It's the place where I'm at home.
It's the place that makes me feel like once again I'm the student athlete, once again I'm ready to go, ready to serve, ready to compete, ready to win, ready to fight.
Brings me back to what I once was, the same strength, the same readiness.
Maybe that strength is gone, maybe that speed is gone, maybe that flexibility is gone - but when I'm sitting on the steps, even just for a moment, it feels like it's back.
It's the place where I reflect, deconstruct, brainstorm, figure out what needs to be improved, determine what strategy leads to victory, and plan for the next move.

Stair steps.
It's the place where I've had the most meaningful conversations as an athlete, with coaches, friends, teammates... And later the most meaningful conversation with the students and athletes whom I coached.
Everything is possible here.
I am myself here.
I got this.
I can be of service here.
I can be of service to you.
And you got this, too.

#ready #bornready #stairs #discomfort #coaching #training

And then you open your mouth - June 2022

You know when people say - I opened my mouth and my mother came out... ain't that the truth, we've probably all experienced as adults, we think we moved away from what we did not like about our parent's communication style, and then here we go, somehow doing what they did.
It does not just happen in parenting - it happens sometimes in coaching, too.

Some days you think you can be a good coach, or maybe just a good human - and you walk in somewhere and create this amazing culture of open discussion, transparency, respect, and really build a tight knit successful team for years.

And some days you totally mess up, and somehow the words and attitude of one of your condescending asshole coaches from 25 years ago repeatedly come out of your mouth - and you end up offending or hurting, and destroying any chance of trust in less than half a second.
Game over, epic fail. No chance of recovery.

And there you are, left wondering - what the heck just crossed your mind and where was that attitude laying dormant, and how did it manage to come out into words without your thinking brain catching on and stepping on the brakes in time.

Fellow children of the most high God, if we only knew how easy it is to screw up.
What a royal dumpster fire we are.

Thankful for God's grace that brings light on our shortcomings and allows us another day on this earth to learn from our mess, and to pray that we can do better tomorrow and someday maybe even get a chance at redemption.

God never said it would be easy, He never promised we would get it right. God just said He would walk with us on this path, and we wouldn't be alone. And He promised that His grace would be sufficient for us.
And it is.

#TrustGod #trust #buildingtrust #teambuilding #coaching #athletics #culture

What is success - May 2022

"You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore, before you decide to be happy"
- Nightbirde

What is success? What is your personal definition of success? What does success look like to you?
I credit my friend Stephanie Nickolich with being the first one to ever ask me this question. And the first one to actually expect an answer out of me.
My answer at the time was extremely 'me-centered', I was a young(er) coach and doctor, very much living in the me-centered world of any young faculty of medicine trying to create a career path.
Back then - my definition of success lingered between time freedom and material achievement, and looked something like: freedom of schedule, no boundaries, no geographical limitations, financial freedom, material assets.

Except Stephanie wasn't going to let me off the hook with the easy answer. She wanted the why.
The follow-up question was what changed my outlook.
Okay then, she said, you want eleventy-bejillion dollars so you can have time freedom, geographical freedom, and the ability to do whatever you want with your life. Got it. But what's your mission? Because the money is for the mission, and if you want time freedom and geographical freedom, that tells me you have a mission. What's your mission?

What is your mission?
That is the question we need to ask. The impact question. The legacy question. The eternity question. The purpose question. The God put me here on this planet for a reason question.
What is your mission?

You see, God put a dream in your heart. And maybe you know it, and maybe you don't - but trust me, it's there.
That dream is yours and yours alone. God created that dream just for you. No one can take it, no one can make it into reality but you. It is your vision and your life mission.
We all have a God-given dream.

What is your Mission? What is your God-given dream? And no, I'm not talking about the downsized one you tell your family so they won't try to dissuade you from working on it, not the 'realistic' dream you share with others so your teammates won't laugh at you and your coaches won't think you are crazy. Not the washed down dream you write in your journal, just in case someone goes and reads it...
I'm asking for the true one - the one that burns like a holy fire in your heart at 2 in the morning when it's dark and no one else is around and it's just you and God.
That's the dream I want you to behold.
That's the dream I want you to follow.
That's the dream I want you to build.
That's the dream I want you to make into reality.
What is your dream?


You do not have to answer out loud - you do not have to share.
What I ask is that you behold your dream and go for it.
Take some steps and start moving in the direction of your true dream.
"Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it."
- Habakkuk 2:2

And here are some steps we could take:

1- PROTECT
Protect your dream. You do not have to share it unless you want to.
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
- Proverbs 4:23

2- TRUST
Trust in God. Trust in yourself, trust in your chosen entourage (coaches, consultants, advisors, family, teammates, friends). And above all things - trust that you have every single answer that you seek, right there, within you.
"O Israel, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield."
- Psalm 115:9

3- RESPONSIBILITY
Take responsibility. Choose an extreme level of ownership for yourself. Own everything. own your choices, your mistakes, your everyday decisions down to the most tiny details.
“You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar"
- Numbers 18:5

4- ACTION
Take action. Action trumps fear every single day. Action helps you keep moving forward and become bigger than any problem that you face.
Action must be inspired, intentional, aligned.
“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them"
- Joshua 1:2

5-COMMITMENT
Commit to your dream. Commit to your vision. Commit to your family. Commit to your tribe.
"Commit your works to the LORD, And your plans will be established."
- Proverbs 16:3

6- DISCIPLINE
Trust the process, and even more enjoy the process. Challenge yourself - discipline shows you what you are capable of.
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men"
- Colossians 3:23

7- DETERMINATION
Determination is like a burning fire that nothing can extinguish. Find the fire that keeps you going and growing, and remember that it may change along the way, and that's okay.
"Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame."
- Isaiah 50:7

8- THERE IS ONLY PLAN A
No contingency planning, friends. Say no to plan B. Nope, nope, nope. There has to be no way out. The dream has to be non-negotiable.
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
- Mark 11:24

#success #dream #believe #takeaction

Do we stick to our values? - May 2022

One of my former athletes called me the other day and said she was writing down the values and vision for her new business she is about to start. And then asked me, what are your values, what do you want your business to stand for?

My tagline is simple:
We believe in the impossible
And we do.
Everything else flows from it.


So here you go:

We believe in the impossible
We make dreams into reality
We make it happen
We put God first
We build on Christian/Biblical principles
We choose to listen
Loyalty is everything
purpose > ego
Athletes first, business second
No limits, we evolve to the highest level achievable
Coaching is a partnership
Athletes have ownership
We thrive on challenge
We welcome attitude all the time
We coach to elite performance
We coach to the elite code
Everything starts with a dream/goal, and then we reverse engineer the pathway there
We are all a work in progress
We take calculated risks
We make mistakes
We have no regrets
We give each other grace and work together
We constantly innovate and reinvent
We welcome change
We model loyalty, faith, and gratitude
What we practice we become
Athletes are protected, supported, seen, heard, and always believed
We expect athletes to always question everything we do
We want to hear the athletes' own desires and ideas
We take daily intentional inspired action
We work on mental performance daily
Mindset comes first, before physical manifestation of the work
We never settle and never F*** quit
Let me say it again - WE NEVER F*** QUIT
Mindset and faith are as important as strength and conditioning
We constantly evolve and upgrade
We keep going no matter what
NDCQ not dead can't quit
We go all in
We expect you to go all in
The best interest of the athlete is the only interest we ever consider
We believe in our athletes even when they do not
We respect the athletes' dreams and making them into reality is our life mission
Mindset training, visualization, prayer, meditation, and self reflection are part of our conditioning routine
We give and receive feedback immediately and constantly
We build up
We care for the athlete as a person first
We build champions through mental performance mastery first and physical ability second
what we teach comes from the Word of God
We open doors and build bridges
We work towards the athlete's long term career goal, whether it's D1, D2, elite, or anything in between
We choose to say 'Yes And' rather than 'But' or 'No'
We choose dedication determination and discipline each day
We run our practice on honor, courage, commitment
We believe excellence is a choice
We believe pressure is a privilege
We are honored to be your coaches
All we do is for God's glory

#values #culture #vision #mission #privilege #honor #commitment #loyalty #becauseitsallaboutloyalty

The architect's dream - May 2022

Many years ago I was standing next to an architect friend, looking at a church he had designed, right after the ribbon cutting ceremony and the first Mass. He said the greatest thing about architecture is standing next to something you built, and watching it stand up on its own, and knowing it will stand up on its own forever.
You know, there's something like that in coaching, too.

I want to help you build your Faith.
I want to help you build your character.
I want to help you build your confidence.
I want to help you build your dreams.
I want you to take ownership.
I want you to be successful.
I want you to smash your goals.
I want you to always grow.
I want you to take what's yours.
I want you to go all in.
I want you to believe.
I want you to take the credit.
I want yout to be all you can be.
I want you to do all you can do.
I want you to have all you can have.
I want you to win it all.
And most of all - I want you to know that you do not need me. You never did, you never will.
Everything you need is within you.

Read that again:
You do not need me. You never did, you never will.
Everything you need is within you.

Make it happen.
Build.
Stand up.

#coaching #building #architecture #growing #dreams #goals #success

Of Honor and Redemption - April 2022

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
- Romans 3:23-24

So many books out there tell the stories of those Hall of Fame coaches that discovered great athletes, and led them to the highest levels of their sports.
All those great stories follow a coach that meets a fantastic athlete, helps them grow, they work together for a long time, and get to the pinnacle of the sport together.

Sometimes it works that way.
For some people it works that way.

And sometimes it's just two broken humans roaming this planet in desperate search of redemption - and they just happen to randomly find each other in the most unpredictable unlikely way, and walk together for some time seeking to make an impossible dream come true.
And that's a story of unsinkable faith in God's plan, a story of extreme resilience in the face of excruciating pain, a story of making dreams into reality against all odds.
Unsinkable Faith.
Faith that heals all brokenness.
Faith that transforms the deepest pain into light.
Faith that saves us from the world and sometimes even from ourselves.

I guess sometimes we need to take the time and tell those unlikely stories, too.
And maybe we need to start telling those stories a lot more often.

Walking this path with you has been a great honor.
I am so proud of who you have become on the way, and I know that up from here the sky is the limit. All I can say is thank you. All of this is by the grace of God. And you know I never take trust for granted - whether it's on the balance beam or anywhere else on this earth.
Watching your lifelong dream come to life, seeing you hold an NCAA trophy in your hands, will always stay with me as one of the most joyous moments of my entire life.

Oh, and by the way - that was all you, you did it all yourself. I'm just honored to have walked alongside you for the ride.
The dream is alive forever.
All glory to God.

#NCAA #Championship #Champion #balancebeam #honor #Godhasaplan #Faith #coaching #success #HisStrength

Pressure is a privilege - March 2022

What is courage? What is resilience? What is grit?
We all define things in different ways. We all experience them in different ways.
How do we refine those qualities?
Pressure.

"We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again.
On him we have set our hope"
- 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

Diamonds are formed under pressure. There is no diamond without pressure. Pressure is a privilege.
Pressure is a privilege: it means you are a diamond in the making. It means you are going through a process, a transformation. It means you are growing your strength, building your character, finding your purpose.
The process is ugly sometimes. Life in the in-between can be painful. And hard. And cruel. And ruthless.
And yet that's where seiing the diamond can make all the difference.
We are forged through the process.
We grow through the process.
We learn to find joy in the process - because the process is all we have to create the diamond.

2 Corinthians 4:13
Dream
Believe
Become

We have to keep the dream alive. And right there in front of us. In plain sight.
Pressure fuels the fire that keeps the dream alive and burning inside your heart.

We have to believe. Against all odds and in spite of the naysayers, the doubters, the haters.
Pressure builds confidence and strengthens faith.

We have to become. What we practice we become. What we do each and every day we become. What we see each and every day we become.
Pressure creates determination and discipline.

Be grateful for the pressure. Be grateful for high expectations. Give thanks for the one chance you get.
Pressure is a privilege.

#diamonds #pressure #training #process #nopressurenodiamonds #pressureisaprivilege #transformation #evolution

KM19, this one's for you - March 2022

We came home with a team trophy today. No big deal for most teams, and yet quite a big deal for this team today, 4 gymnasts competing against teams that were 12 to 14 athletes deep. And they all performed, and all stuck together and helped each other, and still managed to win first place team trophy.
And yet the thing that I noticed the most was how each one of us, coaches, trainers, athletes - as we gathered backpacks and items and prepared for the competition, went through the same routine today and added one more step to the usual prep.
Each one took a piece of white athletic tape, taped their wrist, and wrote KM19 on it with a black marker. It was a way to say today is different. Today we keep you here with us, Katie. Today we do this for you.
This win is for you Katie.

Katie, I wish you were still here. I wish all of us could say - I'm sorry.

Everyone says we lost you, but we really didn't. We failed you. The system failed you. We all failed you.
Those of us near and far - those of us who had the privilege to meet you, and those who did not. Each and every one of us who did nothing to change the system - we all failed you.

We look around and there are so many recovery mechanisms for everyone who visibly struggles in college. You get a C, someone can help. You get a failing grade, someone is there who can assist. You are in line for dismissal, someone is ready to help. You cry victim, someone will quickly come to the rescue.

But where are the provisions for the high performers? Where is the help for the high achievers?
We have so many systems in place to rescue those who underperform or fail... where is there help for the exceptional ones, the overachievers, the bright stars with a brilliant future?
Why does our higher education system expect and assume (oh how I despise that word) that the star student athlete will never need any help and support?

And the real question is, what needs to change, how do we change it?
So many questions. And zero answers.
For real y'all, I have no answers - just this enormous sense of failure that so many of us coaches and educators are carrying around today. Where did we fail you, how did we fail you - what did we miss?
Can we really help our athletes in the end? How do we fix this entirely screwed up system? What can we do to help?

#KM19 #mentalhealth #support #studentathlete #

When it does not happen - February 2022

What if nothing works out?

Every now and then you get a question you don't really want to answer. And in general I like asking questions, not so much having to answer them. That's just me being me, answering questions with more questions, defiant to the end.
One thing I dislike is yes/no questions. Given the choice - I'd prefer open ended questions. I want ideas to flow. The other thing I dislike are no way out questions - those that seem to take away hope.
And that's exactly what I got.

Injuries have a way of taking away your hope. Don't ask me how I know - injuries are what ended my student athlete career during my senior year of college. I was not finished yet - I had a killer beam mount and a brand new floor routine, and big plans for both events that year. My vertebral column however had a different plan, and after the first competition it pretty much flat out said no, not happening, you are done, this is it. The rest of the season was spent in warmups, living meets vicariously and arm-dancing to my teammates routine on the sidelines.
Life is unpredictable. Unpredictable and cruel sometimes, too.

You never know how someone else feels, and yet there is always some kind of a connection that I have with those who are dealing with setbacks, injuries, surgeries, and the grueling process of recovery.

Brother, I have no right answers.
Or maybe no answers at all.
But I can give you my word that I will not walk away from this moment of pain.
You are not alone. I am here.

I do not know your pain, but I do know what my pain was like - and I can respect the art of suffering.
I do not hear your doubts, but I have heard mine many times - and I can help you silence their ruthless screaming.
I cannot fight your demons, but I fought mine for endless hours - and I can be there to make sure you get through it.
I cannot take away this circumstance, but I can help you find the source of your strength and walk this long recovery and healing road with you until we get to the other side.
And what if it all works out?

Maybe those who say life is hard do have a point. Life is hard. But we are harder. And we will figure something out. And we will win.

#ACL #surgery #pommelhorse #stillrings #gymnastics #injury #recovery

I'm not politically correct y'all, deal with it - February 2022

I took some heat this week. Got a few phone calls from fellow coaches that called me a disappointment for working with an athlete and recommending a transfer.
And you know what, the heat is okay.
That athlete will be much happier and more successful in the new location, away from a non-supportive environment, and that's all that matters to me. All the haters that were quick to pass judgement and just wanted drama can go and have a good day.
I could not care less about their opinion.

"If their name is not God,
their opinion does not matter
and their approval is not needed"
- Paula White Cain

You know what? If we spend some time together, it's very likely that something I say will offend you at some point.
I'm the kind of person who's very direct and very in your face, and I don't sugar-coat it. Not ever. Get over it now, so we get this out of the way before we even start.
Do not expect political correctness, do not expect someone who is careful about every word and rides along with the snowflak culture - or the so called 'wokeness' that seems ever-present everywhere. Let me say it out loud - I do not care.
Get used to it: I will be calling things by their name, and I will be much more Biblically correct than politically correct - forgive me the half quote Carrie Prejean, you know we agree on many levels.

So here you have it. If you have thin skin, I'm not someone you should work with. If you expect me to use BS stuff like pronouns and such, or agree with all the BS liberal government control and narrative, I'm not someone you should work with. I respect everyone and as a Christian I'm called to love everyone as my brothers and sisters - but I do not have to agree with everyone. I know my values and I hold my freedom very high on the list.

So here you have it:
If the National Anthem offends you, or you don't plan to stand for it - you may want to walk away now.
If our Flag offends you, and you do not plan to respect it - you may want to walk away now.
If defending our Constitution and our Bill of Rights offends you - you may want to walk away now.
If our 2nd Amendment offends you and you do not respect the right of all Americans to bear arms - you may want to walk away now.
If you expect me to 'cancel' words or people or brands - you may want to walk away now.

And if you are still here, well - good to know, I will be honored to help you reach your goals!

#freedom #liberty #values #America #patriot

F*** Excuses - February 2022

A while ago I saw this post on LinkedIn about doing 22 sets of pushups on 2-22-2022 to raise awareness about Veterans' suicide. I've done a pushup challenge before - hooyah Mark Divine and Ramit Sethi... remember the 500 pushups 20x challenge? yep. And I survived it lol... Except I'm older now!
The original challenge was posted by Jon Macaskill (thank you Jon).
A quick summary from his social post is here:
"484 push-ups in a day. 22 push-ups every hour at 22 minutes past the hour starting at 1:22am on 2-22-22. The last set will be at 10:22pm (22:22). So the 22nd set of 22 push-ups will be at 22:22 on 2-22-22.
Why ARE you doing it? What’s the significance of the 22? Well, we’ve seen the 22 push-ups a day for 22 days. This was a campaign to raised awareness of to remember the 22 veterans a day who die by suicide.
This challenge is much more intense. It will be physically exhausting. It will interrupt your sleep cycle. You won’t think straight. It will cause pain. Some of us will struggle on each set. Most of us will struggle completing the whole challenge. Guess what. That’s what people who take their own lives feel like. They’re exhausted. They’re mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually drained. They’re not thinking straight. They’re struggling.
This challenge is to raise awareness of and remember the 22… and in raising awareness, get us all to take action to change this statistic once and for all! Who’s in!?"

When I saw that post, I thought - hey, this is something I can do! And of course as I read it, I said - I'm in!

Except life is what happens while you are busy making all the plans, isn't it?
The day comes and here I am, 1 am on 2-22-22, awake and I've got a throbbing headache and I feel nauseated, and I am in no shape to roll out of bed, much less do pushups. And as minutes pass, I'm rationalizing what the heck did I eat that made me sick - I'm allergic to everything, granted, but I thought I was really watching my food and making sure I didn't get anything with additives, seasonings... oh well no one cares, and it's 1:10 am already.
No way it's happening, I'm going to throw up if I try to do one pushup, much less 22.
1:15, heck no, I'm calling it quits, no way.
1:20 I go and read the challenge again, and I see the questions Jon posted:
"Why ARE you doing it?" and tears start coming up, and I just roll out of bed and onto the floor and as my alarm sounds the 1:22 am I do my 22 pushups. My head hurts, and my neck, and I feel like throwing up, but I still finish my set of 22.

You see, I lost a friend to suicide two years ago.
He was in treatment for PTSD, and he seemed to be making progress and getting better every day.
We'd go out to the range on the weekend, then make some burgers and have a good time. And then one day he was gone. No signs for any of his family members and friends to see. His therapist was shocked. And yet I've spent countless hours since, trying to figure out what cues I missed, how did I not see the signs, where were the signs, were there any.
So yeah. That's why.

I rolled back into bed with a marker and a piece of paper, and I found a photo of my friend on my phone. I wrote a few words on the paper, put them near the phone, and tried to close my eyes again and pray that the nausea would go away.
The alarm sounded again at 2:22 am
Terrible headache still there, and nausea still there. And the desire to give up was also still there. But I had a weapon to fight it. I put the phone and the paper right in front of me - the words read "if this is your only chance to save my life, will you give up?" and I finished my second set.
3:22, again.
4:22, 5:22, 6:22, 7:22, 8:22, 9:22, 10:22, 11:22 12:22, 1:22, again.
And now here's the alarm sound - it's 2:22 pm.
I have to find the energy to shower, get ready, and go coach. I leave at 3 pm and start at 4pm, I'll be working from 4 to 9 pm. So now I have 8 sets to do now for the next 7 hours. That's 154 pushups. What the heck. This is crazy. I want to give up. But I have my picture and the note, 22 at a time, one set, 30 seconds rest, another set. Go.
Strange enough, after the last set, I am starting to feel better. Maybe the allergic reaction is finally calming down, and I am also feeling better because I am not giving up. Now I know I won't. The note is wet from tears and I have to wipe the phone too, but I won't give up.
Off to the shower, and off to work.
Back home at 9:45 pm, the nausea is gone, the headache is more tolerable. I can finally make it to drink a cup of tea now! Alarm off, 10:22 pm, last set, let's go.
What the heck, take a breather and do 22 more just because. Let's go past 500.
This is for you my friend.

Challenge completed. Easy day.
It wasn't glamorous enough to blast on social media.
It wasn't the strength challenge I thought it would be.
It was painful on many ways.
It was ugly with pain, nausea, tears, and prayer.
It brought up a bucket of emotions and tears I didn't really want to deal with.

And it reminded me of a few things we can do when we feel like giving up:
-Remind yourself of why you started in the first place
-Enter a room with no exits. Eliminate all other options. Scratch plan B.
-Take pain, tears, sweat, emotions, and all that comes on the way as part of the process. Those are the messengers that silence your doubts, they are a gift, they remind you that you kept going and didn't give up.
-Place a higher goal that goes beyond the finish line. Make your goal bigger than it needs to be, so you are certain that the actual goal becomes an easy task.

But none of that matters.
The why matters.
The mission matters.
Mission completed.
Easy day.

This day was for you my friend - and for all our brothers and sisters who are struggling and feel like giving up and need help.
This is for all y'all.

Coach Elena out.

#new22for22challenge

Balance Beam and jerks - January 2022

A good friend of mine is a bars specialist and always makes the joke that beam specialists are a different breed. She says we can be as scary as old ballet teachers walking around with a cane, and rhythmic coaches in stilettos. LOL!
And yes, I get it that we have to be a little bit crazy to live our happiest moments on a 4 inch beam up off the ground, but maybe that little bit crazy is what makes life fun.

My freshman year in college, our head coach had a car accident. He was out for like a week before being able to walk with crutches and get back into the gym, so he arranged for another coach friend of his to come help in the meantime.
Now I will admit, I have trust issues - a lot - and I was much worse when I was younger. Someone new in the gym was pretty much an enemy until proven otherwise. My attitude with the new lady was like, heck no - whatever you say I do not care, I'm just doing my own thing.

Apparently she was at least brave. She showed up at beam and tried to make us go through some complexes. I was working on LOSO and had absolutely no intention to spend time doing whatever exercises, so I kept working on my mount and ignoring what she was telling us to do.

As I was adjusting the springboard, she said something to the effect of - how is that that the good balance beam people are always terrible jerks?
I didn't really get it - wasn't really paying attention to begin with, and her words went straight over my head. My friend Katie however, on the beam right next to mine, turned to me and said - Hey Elena, I think she just called you a jerk!
And I was like - what?
Katie didn't miss a beat - why are you surprised? I mean, you are a jerk.
My teammates were laughing and nodding, too.
And I was thinking, for real? You've got to be kidding me. Granted I'm not the kindest person on the team, but a jerk?

That evening when I got back I went to the phone - yes we still had landlines - and called up my coach.
Coach Michael? Are you doing alright? May I ask you a question?
He started laughing. Go ahead, he said.
Do you think I'm a jerk? I asked.
He kept laughing. Yes - he said - as a matter of fact, I do. But you win beam, and sometimes you win floor, so I deal with it. Sometimes I find it exhausting, and when I feel like I want to slap you I just remember that I am an adult and walk away instead. And I heard what happened today, that's why I'm laughing. Literally everyone on the team thinks you are a jerk, and you don't even know it.
There was like a moment of silence.
Coach Michael? So, how do I stop being a jerk?
Try being kind to people sometimes. It doesn't take much. Do something nice for a teammate. Help out with a piece of equipment. Be helpful when someone is struggling with their routines. Learn to develop some patience. Curb the sarcasm. I think that could be a start.

That phone call changed my life.
Talk about lack of self awareness... I had no idea what effect my attitude had on my teammates. I was extremely direct and unfiltered - and never thought that people could be unhappy with my behavior and yet not say anything to me for months.
The next day I tried to show up to practice with a more appropriate attitude. It took a while, and it was a painful learning curve, but I will be forever grateful to my coach for showing me how to address interactions and team dynamics.

Sports is a stage for life. Sometimes we need to step out of the technical and also address character. You'd be surprised how many people are clueless about how they make others feel. I was one - and still to this day sometimes I inadvertently offend people and have no idea how that happened. It's a work in progress that lasts a lifetime.

Let's take the time to work on character. Our athletes, and our own.

#character #attitude #relationships #kindness #bekind #respect

If you like to start fires, you've got to take the heat - December 2021

"See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction"
- Isaiah 48:10

Fiery trials are part of the refining process. As we ask God to free us from all limitations and shortcomings that hinder our growth - He reveals those undesired traits through trials, so we may be free and come out stronger on the other side of the refining process. For as much as no one likes to go through a refining process, that's how gold is purified in a furnace, and that's how our soul is cleansed of ungodly attributes.

Some of us clearly need refining more than others. Some days God must be looking down at me like - child, I gave you like a few chances for a do-over and you keep screwing all of them up...
Or maybe I don't, and He's know this all along and He set this path fpr a reason - and all I'm asked to do is be obedient and walk as He leads.
Thankful for His grace, and His love that never leaves me. I will choose to sing my praise and thank Him for the trials and the opportunity to be refined and purified for His purpose.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze."
- Isaiah 43:2

#Fire #refining #trials #youarenotalone #Godiswithyou

Ego doesn't matter. Or maybe it does, and it's all ego in disguise - November 2021

My Russian coach friend asked me the other day how come I do not have any issues with athletes having an attitude at practice. And my answer was like - I welcome attitude and challenge, I thrive on it. I believe it shows character and usually comes along with resilience and grit. Attitude is needed and welcomed in my world.

You see, I'm not 24 anymore.
I don't need to look cool. I don't need to be right. I don't need to win arguments. I don't need to end up on top.

All I care about is intention and results.


So go ahead and be happy
If you want to show your attitude and look cool, that's perfectly fine by me.
If you want to have the last word every time and make sure everyone know you are right, that's perfectly fine by me.
If you want to make it known that there's nothing I can possibly teach you, that's perfectly fine by me.
If you want to treat me like an idiot each day every day and dismiss every advice and correction I offer, that's perfectly fine by me.
If you look awesome and I look useless every day from now to Championship - but you do the work and make the corrections and you win - I've done my job and I'll be happy as a clam.

I don't need credit. I don't need glory. I'm perfectly fine and happy standing behind the scenes in the shadows.
And believe me that's not being selfless - that's just focusing on what's important. Your success is all that is important to me. Everything else is noise. I'm not here for the glory - the glory ain't mine anyway, the glory is always His.

So go ahead and look cool.
Go ahead and be right.

Go ahead and behave like there's nothing I can possibly teach you or help you with.
Go ahead and have the last word.
And then let's go out there and win it all.
Win it all.
And give God the glory.

#HisStrength #HisStrengthNotMine #WhatsImportantNow #WIN #winitall #glory #attitude #character

You are not a tree - October 2021

Athletes, you are not trees.
Nowhere is written that you have to stay where you are.
Look at your performance today VS six months ago. Are you in the same place or not far from where you were back then? if so, it's time to change things up.
If your training environment does not plan a roadmap with you and develop you to your highest potential, you need to move.

What are some signs that you need a different training environment, you ask?
Here are some common ones:
- you make no progress
- you make slow progress
- you work in a highly controlling environment
- your goals and ideas are not used as the foundation for planning training periods and sessions
- you are being coached top-down and told what to do all the time
- no one asks for your input, ideas, and desires
- there is no support for mindset training and mental performance
- no one ever asks you how you are doing, what you think you need, what is on your mind, what you believe could help you
- your voice is not taken into account
- your requests are often dismissed or ignored
- you are punished or yelled at for expressing your opinion or speaking up or disagreeing
- your needs and boundaries are not heard or respected
- the focus is always on reps and numbers rather than quality
- you are told to keep working on reps even when you are tired or in pain and the risk of injury is high
- the fact that we all have off-days (athletes and coaches) is not acknowledged, and you get yelled at or punished when you have an off-day or low energy
- every training session looks the same and you are doing the same things over and over expecting different outcomes
- you keep receiving/hearing the same corrections all the time but no guidance on how to overcome the core issues behind the mistakes
- you are told to change something but not given a framework to do it, no drills and/or conditioning and/or exercises to improve
- you get yelled at for not doing something (or not doing it correctly) without any questions of what your condition is that day
- no one cares about your overall well-being, such as what is your life outside the sport, what other demands are placed on you by school and family etc, what is your physical and mental condition that day, what is your energy level, what support do you feel you need
- you are judged or belittled for sub-par performance, rather than supported or helped through it
We could keep going with an endless list, but you get the gist.

The purpose of training is to get better. When you walk out of your training environment, ask yourself this:

did what we did today made me better at something?
did I have fun even for a moment today?
did I use my time effectively today?
Training should be purpose-driven, efficient, and fun.
If none of the above are met, pack your bag and move to a new training environment.

And yes, leaving familiar faces and places can feel somewhat overwhelming. It may be painful and scary at first, but your future self and your athletic career will thank you later.

#training #purpose #success #growth #improvement #teamculture #culture #coaching

Words are energy - September 2021

"The words you speak are the house you live in."
- Rachel Pedersen

I have always been a firm believer that what you speak will appear in your world. The words you speak will create your reality. And often times when I hear athletes saying things that pass judgement on their performance and actions, I tend to remind them that words are energy - that what they say is teaching their minds and their bodies something.

The French say 'Tout se tient'.
Tout se tient - everything is connected. A nice way to remind us that there is no coincidence.
I firmly believe it. Nothing happens by chances, everything is interconnected.

What we think and say matters.
What we imagine matters.
What we visualize matters.
What we hope for matters.
What we pray for matters.
All of this creates our reality.

fix your eyes not on what is seen, but fix your eyes on what is UNSEEN.
- 2 Corinthians 4 18

Our thoughts and words and mental images are the unseen. And what is unseen creates what is seen.
As within, so without.
Always remember that.

This is why words are important. If words are energy - choosing our words helps us manage our energy.
The energy we need to keep going, the energy we need to improve, the energy we need to perform at our best.
Our energy level - like our happiness in a way - is a decision we make every day, a conscious decision we make.
And if it does not feel that way for you right now, if you do not feel like you are managing your energy, or you are in control of your world - then maybe we need to have a conversation and see how we can change that.

Sometimes we have this feeling that out there there's a world available, and it works, for 'them' - but that here for us it's not attainable and it's not within reach. When that's the case, we feel out of control and we receive or react to energy rather than creating and establishing and managing our energy.

As you go down the path you will get knocked down in a way that you didn't see coming, and it will happen. If you manage your energy and have a plan, or are prepared for it, it will be less tragic. You will know you have a choice.
We all have a choice when we fall face down. As a matter of fact, we have 3 choices.
-We can choose to stay down. Heck, it hurts, and we don't want to start again. At that low point, you cannot fall that much again as you are already there.
-We can crouch down and slowly move but try to protect ourselves. It feels safer, so that if something happens again you will not fall that badly and there will be less pain.
-WE can choose to rise, and walk as far as we can go, and as fast as we are capable of, and keep going with the outcome we had in mind.
In the end, I hope that in spite of falls, and in spite of hate, and in spite of pain - you will always choose to rise.

How do we get there?
We manage our energy. The energy we create, the energy we put out in the world, and the energy we receive from the world.

What can help you on this journey?
-Remember your why. Think of why you started down that path, what outcome were you drawn to, what was you hope, what was the source of your joy, what was your dream.
-Have some provisions. A support place that tells you what you have done for others and how that was good and did good to them. It will help you see that you did get through to someone and helped them out. And on the path, when things get hard, you can look back at those provisions or notes and moments, and find testimonials of your worth again. Keep testimonials, keep blog posts, keep notes and thank you messages.
-Hold your track record. You survived everything the enemy put in your path. Every storm, every obstacle, every stronghold, every hardship. You made it through 100% of the hard days. You made it through the waters, you made it through the fire, you made it through the valley. You can make it though everything and anything. You have the strength of God within you.
-Protect yourself. Put on the armor of God.
"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
- Ephesians 6:11-17

Go forth and conquer, young champion.
Everything you need to be victorious in Christ Jesus is within you.

XX.

What we practice we become - August 2021

How you do one thing is how you do all things.
Grandma

My grandmother used to say - How you do one thing is how you do all things.
Those words stayed with me. I find myself saying them often.
Do we cut corners at practice? Do we pay attention to good form when conditioning? Do we watch for details in the warm-up? All things matter. Details matter. How we behave in the small things reflects on the big things.

God entrusted us with a gift. Each and every one of us was given a gift. But how are we putting that gift to use?
When we can be trusted with small things, we will be trusted with big things. I firmly believe this to be true. Have you ever heard a parent teach a child that they need to learn and manage 10 dollars before they can be given 100 dollars? It's kinda the same concept. What you do with small things reflects on big things.
The way we behave at practice matters - because how we behave at Championship will be a reflection of what we do everyday at practice.

In medicine, I used to tell my residents that what we practice we become. When we practice taking shortcuts, cutting corners, disregarding details - we become sloppy and careless and inaccurate.
What we practice we become.

The same is true in sports.
When we skip a rep or a set, when we cut corners, when we perform skills or drills half-hearted, without intent - we become the athletes who perform an entire routine half-hearted. And it reads.
Let me say it louder for the people in the back - it reads.
Not just to the judge, but to everyone. Everyone can see it, the judges, the coaches, the audience.
Have you ever watched someone perform and thought - oh wow, that's lifeless, there's no expression, there no intention, there is no drive, there is no fire burning...
Yes, my friends, it reads. It always does.

Please do not allow yourself to become that athlete. The on who does not try. The one who performs half-hearted. The one who does not put heart and soul in everything they do.
Respect your passion for the sport, and find joy in your sport.
Enjoy your routines, enjoy dancing through your elemnts, enjoy showing your audience a new world they did not know existed, take them through an artistic adventure and leave them with a feeling of enrichment. Show the world that everything is possible for those who believe.

"And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others."
- Marianne Williamson

Go all in, friends.
Practice as your life depended on it. Perform every skill as if it was as high stakes as an Olympic medal. Practice intention behind every thought, every action.
Make every moment intentional.
Make every moment high-stakes.
Practice being present.


Choose to shine your light, friends.
You never know who is watching - you never know what life looks like that day for that judge, that meet director, that coach, that competitor, that mother, that father, that grandma, that brother, that sister, that random child watching and dreaming.

Shine your light. It may be someone's only chance to illuminate a lifetime of darkness.

"We are the light of the world;
may our light shine before all,
that they may see the good that we do, and give glory to God."
- Jean Anthony Greif

#intention #light #shineyourlight #practice #character

Listening - a lesson from Coach Wooden and Coach Summitt - May 2021

There is a story about Coach Wooden, that he would sit on the bleachers every day at the same time - just in case any of his athletes wanted to go talk to him about whatever was on their mind.

I heard this story from Pat Summitt, when she was giving a talk during a coaching conference. It made me wonder how much we don't know about or we don't really care about what is actually going on in the life of our athletes. She made a remark following this story, and ask us to raise our hands if any of us had asked an athlete "what is going on in your life outside your sport?" during the previous week. Very few hands went up, maybe 3 or 4 - and I must confess mine was not one of them. I had never asked the question before.

Her talk stopped me in my tracks. How much of a disservice was I doing to my athletes by not taking into consideration the external demands on their lives - or by not opening the door for them to be able to speak up about everything and anything? I have always had an open door policy in terms of conversations - I believe coaching is a collaboration - but I always kept conversations sport-related or performance-related in some way, and really did not pay much attention to what they were going to face once they walked out the door.

That is something that changed that day. I now choose to listen, and make it known that they will be heard - no matter what is on their mind and what they want to talk about.
Thank you Coach Summitt, and thank you Coach Wooden.

#coaching #communications #openmind #opendoor

Doing the same thing over and over - January 2021

Christie Marie Sheldon says the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. Oh, truer words have never been spoken.

What keeps you stuck, not making progress on your goals?
Sometimes we call it the cycle of defensive failure, or in plain words - your brain is trying to defend you against experiencing failure (doing something and failing). The truth is failure is the way to success. We need to fail in order to succeed.

What leads you to the cycle of defensive failure? It depends.

Could be one of many stories you tell yourself. Oh yes, those voices in your head - you think that you cannot do it, you think others have the talent but you are not sure about yourself, you think you may make a mistake. The core issue here is an external accountability - you believe that something else outside of you is needed to be successful: talent, tools, resources, you name it.
What countermeasures do we have - effort. Moving into the belief system that success is created with effort. Consistent effort over time produces result. Consistent effort follows innovation. Consistent effort enables us to improve.

Could be an issue of identity. Deep down you may have family beliefs about who you are and where you come from, and somehow you think people like you are not successful at things like these. It really comes down to identity. Your goal, that skill, that thing you want to do is in contrast with the identity you have built for yourself (not strong enough, not flexible enough, too busy, no time, too tired, too old to learn this skill, too late, etc). What countermeasures do we have - community. Community over competition all day every day, friends. I'm serious. I don;t care what nation you compete for, what school, what club - talk to each other, connect with each other, support each other. Find some people like you, someone at the same stage, someone in the same predicament - connect with them and help each other do the things you want to do.

Could be ambivalence. Conflicting desires. Under the surface you really do not want to do something, but somehow you think you are supposed to do it or someone else wants you to do it.
You think that's what you are expected to do, or you do not want to hurt other people feelings like disappoint your family and friends, or you want to do it to be admired, or whatever reason made you want or commit to something that you really did not want to do in the first place.
What countermeasures do we have - follow your heart and silence everything else. Everything else is just noise.
When you are at the highest levels of any sport, the work you want to do is always hard and constantly getting harder. You need a fire within you. You need to recognize and believe some instrinsic value in your sport/craft/art that will keeps you interested and committed during the hard times.
My friend Sarah Shakespeare says - discipline is remembering what you want the most OVER what you want right now. I think she nailed it here. This is where relying on the inner fire of desire and the outer structure of discipline will keep you going.

We need to keep the end goal in sight.
And we need to have an open mind that the road there can and will change along the way.
The questions we should ask - all the time - are simple:
-How do you innovate?
-How do you champion change?
The answers however, can be many and contradisctory and complex. Which is why we need to always change things up if we want to strive for progress.
To get something you never had you need to do something you've never done. It's that simple.
Or in other words, if you keep doing what you are doing, you get what you already got.
We need change. We need to welcome change. We need to make change our constant compass.

What helps us drive change?
1 - ignore the odds The odds are for something which has already been done. If you are innovative, the odds will NEVER be in your favor. Become comfortable with the discomfort of going against all odds.

2 - embrace fear No matter how many times you change things up, change is scary, everyone is afraid, everyone needs their 90 seconds to go through the emotional turmoil of fear of change. Make fear your friend, and learn to take action in spite of fear.

3 - take action, always Change is figure-out-able (yep I just made up a word), but you cannot decide a direction of change by thinking it through - you can only decide the direction by DOING. It is in the process of doing that you understand and find the right path and grow. Action shows you that you CAN do. Action builds your confidence. Action shows you which direction to take.
And most of all, action puts you in charge and in control of your training - and that's where you want to be.

Change things up, friends.
Do it scared.
Do it everyday.
Do it now.

#change #fear #control #ownership #success

We watched Athlete A - January 2021

"the wolf lives to destroy
the sheepdog lives to protect"
- Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

I always though of a coach as a sheepdog, a protector. The 'mama-bear' warrior that protects the athletes.
And looking at our sport governing body today - it makes me wonder how all of us sheepdogs failed to protect so miserably.

With another two coaches we mustered up the courage and watched Athlete A the other day. And we got sick to our stomach from it. Like, for real.
We talked about it afterwards, and among the questions we all asked, three kept coming to the surface over and over. And although many of us were far away from all that was happening - being part of the same sport and members of the same national organization makes you wonder whether collectively we have failed our athletes with a pervasive false sense of safety.
What clues did we miss?
How did we not listen?
Why did we not believe?

In medicine we have a concept of doing no harm. "Primum non nocere" which many believe to be part of the Hippocratic Oath, but is instead a quote from Claudius Galenus. The concept is - whatever we do must not cause harm. But how do we lead on the road to zero harm?
Zero harm begins with company culture transformation.
- What do we need the company or organizational culture to promote and reward? honesty, safety, performance, innovation.
- What do we need to eliminate from the company or organizational culture? guilt, shame, fear.
-What must company or organizational culture have zero tolerance for? dishonesty, secrecy, retaliation.

In medicine, the road to zero harm goes through several foundational pillars.
The first pillar is HONESTY
The second pillar is TRANSPARENCY
The third pillar is PERFORMANCE
The fourth pillar is EFFICIENCY
The fifth pillar is EXCELLENCE

The fundamental question of the sheepdog coach is - can we reflect these zero harm principles in our sport, and apply them to our clubs and organizations?
What we want is to create an environment where the athlete as a person feels:
-valuable and VALUED
-heard and BELIEVED
-safe and PROTECTED
-supported and ENCOURAGED

And let's think of some questions that maybe we should ask ourselves every day:
- what have you done of meaning today to protect an athlete?
- what are you going to do different tomorrow to protect an athlete?
- what systems can you put in place to protect athletes after you are gone?

"our enemy is evil
our cause is just
our sacrifice is for a noble and worthy purpose"
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

#AthleteA #protect #defend #sheepdog #coach #safety #athletes

We are a representation of our brand - September 2020

I went up to the East Coast to visit a gym where I had to do a one day beam clinic. It was an organization I had never had any contact with, and an entirely new experience.

When I visit gyms I look at the coaching environment first, and also the athletes body language, and their reaction to what the coaches do and/or say.

Some examples?
A lot of yelling at athletes or expecting obedience and a 'do as I say or else' environment - tells me something about the culture in that gym.
Coaches who prohibit athletes from talking to each other during low impact activities such as stretching or warm-up - tells me something about how practice is run in that place and how control is established.
Athletes lingering behind at break or spending excess time in the bathrooms or locker rooms - tells me something about their lack of enthusiasm for whatever event or activity is coming next.
Seeing athletes respond with retraction as soon as their request or objection meets any kind of resistance - tells me about how their requests, needs, and boundaries are routinely dismissed or disrespected and not taken into consideration.
Seeing rolled eyes and shrugged shoulders as a response to everything and anything - tells me that athletes are used to being reprimanded, yelled at, belittled, name-called, and at this point they don't even care anymore, or they pretend not to care.
Observing repeated activities with little to no changes over time - tells me that the environment is closed-minded, they keep doing the same thing over and over expecting or wishing for different results.
Resistance or straight refusal to allow a clinician to run a full event or group without hands-on control from the local coaches - tells me that gym culture is not open to change and sees new ideas as threatening to the authorities in their environment.
Seeing athletes who always accept their coaches assessment and opinion without question or disagreement - tells me that the culture is not open to conversation and athletes have no input and no voice in their training, and are not allowed to take ownership or be in charge of their progress.

As business owner - we quickly learn that everything we do and say is a representation of our brand. We are a representation of our brand. Sports are no different: everything we do becomes a representation of the values and culture that we promote in our training environment.

The positive side of this is - God gave us free will on earth. We get a choice, and we are allowed to make changes. We get to deliberately create our culture and environment.

Gym owners and coaches - it is never too late to reinvent, innovate, and change.
Some of us grew up in the old style top-down coaching and win-at-all-cost envirnomnet - but that does not mean that future athletes and coaches should inherit that approach.
We have a choice.
We can create change.
We can innovate.
We can reinvent.

Let's make the right choices for our athletes - and let's start by making those choices together with our athletes.

#coaching #culture #branding

Where is our Freedom? - July 2020

"Liberty over security; Principle over party and Truth over Personality"
- KrisAnne Hall

And yes, maybe this has nothing to do with coaching and gymnastics. Alright, got it, bear with me.

As we look around us these days, there is a widespread push for uniform thinking among healthcare organizations. Nothing is more dangerous than uniform thinking in medicine.
Of everything we talk about in medical school - I always wanted residents and medical students to learn two concepts more than anything:
1 - always question everything. Everything. No matter where it comes from, no matter who says it, no matter in which holy grail book it is written, no matter who blindly follows it or preaches it - always question everything.
2 - the best interest of the patient is all that matters. We took an oath to treat the patient to the best of our abilities. The best interest of the patient comes before all else, and it stands above all else.
Questioning everything drives innovation. The best interest of the patient informs the questions and the innovative process. Removing the ability to question the guidelines also remove our capability of innovating and improving our current protocols and guidelines. We have to be able to question a standard, in order to improve it.
To silence the independent thinking physician is to cripple our capability for innovation.
Independent thinking physicians carved a path to develop groundbreaking surgery techniques, therapies, vaccines, antibiotics, antivirals, and everything else.
Medical discoveries always begin with an independent thinking physician who stops to question a current guideline, and asks - how can we improve?
All that ever drove medical progress and innovation was a single independent thinking physician who chose to ask questions.
How do we treat this condition without harming the patient?
How do we improve this patient quality of life while we treat the disease?
How do we stop the spread of this infection?
How do we prevent this disease?
These questions, and many more.

We must encourage and protect independent thinking in medicine. The independent thinking physician is our greatest weapon against all diseases we fight.
“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.”
- Jonas Salk

#medicine #innovation #health #publichealth #independence #liberty #freedom

Intention is everything - May 2020

Workout sessions on Zoom are becoming the norm. And everyone is already getting tired of this 'live but not in person' connection. What was exciting at first - hey this is awesome we can do gym even far away from each other - is now starting to wear down everyone, and we are like, hey may I turn off my camera for a bit please? Yep, we are all there. Zoom exhaustion is real.


How do we keep our sessions intentional when most of what we actually can do is what many athletes see as the least exciting part of their sport - conditioning, drills, shaping, stretching...
How do we keep people engaged from a 15 inch screen, or a 5 inch screen?

Let's bring intention into the screen - like we would bring it into our gym.
Set your intention for the day
Set your intention for your practice session
Set your intention for each event

Coaches and athletes, always remember:
Your intention is powerful
Your intention shows that you believe in your goals and dreams
Your intention guides you to take intentional action steps that bring you closer to your goals
Intention is everything.

#zoom #homebound #intention #training #virtualtraining

Toss the box - March 2020

Everyone says think outside the box.
Everyone says take the road less traveled.
You know what - screw that.
Throw away the box.
Bulldoze down your own road.
Choose MASSIVE INNOVATION.

I'm serious - be bold, be courageous, do something that has never been done before.
I really want you to innovate and reinvent and just throw away the box.
We have room in the code - create your own new skill.

Say no to just thinking outside the box - that's lame.
Be bold.
Throw away the damn box.

#CoP #code #book #rulebook #throwawaythebox

If their name is not God, their approval is not needed - February 2020

Texas sunset
Colorado sunrise
Utah Sun

Off to another clinic, another day of helping athletes make dreams into reality, another day on this life mission of changing the sport one balance beam routine at a time.
I chose this life, and I would not change it for anything in this world. And to all the people out there that think I'm crazy, maybe you are right.
But I want you to remember one thing - no matter what happens, no matter where you are, no matter what you do: if their name is not God, their opinion doesn't matter in their approval is not needed.
Stay in your lane.
Do you.
Choose to bring light everywhere you go.

#travel #gymnastics #coaching #bringlight #trustGod

What am I looking for - January 2020

My boyfriend challenged me to write down my ideal culture, what I am looking for. So I took his challenge, and here you go.

Everything we do is to give God glory
We love our beautiful country and all our fellow Americans
This is the South - always be nice to mama no matter what
We always make more grits so we can share a cup with someone
No matter what we are doing, when Mississippi Girl or Sweet Home Alabama or Copperhead Road starts playing, we stop and get up and dance or hearts out
The 2nd Amendment protects everything else and is sacred to us
Dolly Parton is the greatest of all time
When the National Anthem plays, we stop and stand and face the Flag and sing
Praise the Lord in everything

#culture #whatiwant

What we teach and preach VS what we model - December 2019

A friend was complaining about some business problem, and I found myself offering some advice, and telling them to market year round rather than just around Summer and Christmas season.
And then on the way home I thought, what the heck am I running my mouth for - I don't market year round... and I should, I know I should, but I don't.

It reminded me of what my friend Tamara once told me - we teach what we most need to learn.
WE TEACH WHAT WE MOST NEED TO LEARN
Ain't that the truth!
And here I am - telling someone they need to market year round, and heck yeah, I need to market year round too.
Which made me think about what we teach vs what we model. We tell others to do things a certain way, but are we living the way we teach?
Are we teaching, or are we modeling? Have you ever wondered if we model what we teach?
Most of the time there is some degree of disconnect. it does not mean that we are not operating out of integrity - most likely, it just means that we are a work in progress, that we are learning, growing, and on the path but not there yet.
Disconnect is everywhere. think of your parents - for most of us creatives, we had really supportive parents who always told us to follow our dreams and do what we wanted and go for it and believe it. They were teaching us to believe in ourselves and follow our dreams and go do what we wanted to do.
But what were they modeling for us? did they follow their dreams? were they living their dreams? or were they modeling sacrifice? were they struggling? were they sacrificing everything to give us a better life or maybe freedom to pursue our dreams?
did they model confinement while trying to teach us to seek freedom?
did they model sacrifice while trying to teach us to live our dreams?
did they model scarcity while trying to teach us abundance?

The world is laden with examples of parents with incredible good intentions who sacrificed themselves to the last breath to deliver their children a life of freedom and confidence - without realizing that they did not model that life for their children.
Parents who told us to believe in ourselves and our dreams but did not believe in theirs.
Parents who told us to be free but led a life of restrictions.
Parent who tried to give us everything abundant but lived themselves a life of lack.

You see, sometimes with the best of intentions, we teach others what we know in our mind and heart that work, that will help them, that will change their life - but we ourselves aren't yet modeling that behavior in our own life.
And that is where the disconnect comes. We know what will work, what will bring change, what will solve your problem - and we share by teaching with hope it will help you evolve. But we haven't fully evolved yet, we are still a work in progress, and we are teaching a certain way, but we are not yet living that certain way.
Does it mean everything we teach is trash? no. It means we all walk a path, and we are all in different places on our path, and we all walk at a different pace. When we say we 'teach' - we should maybe say that we 'share'. Because that's what we do. We are sharing our experience, and what we have come to know, and what we can see ahea of us - but we are not really teaching. And we need to pay attention to what we are modeling, while we try to teach.

#teaching #modeling #leadership #workinprogress

Boundaries - November 2019

A tennis player I'm working with asked me to go observe his training session. He mentioned he tends to feel quite drained of energy after practice, even when the workload is light.
And here I was, sitting on the bleachers, watching and taking notes.

The one thing I kept noticing was that every time he asked for something, or proposed an alternative, or offered an option - whatever he brought to the table was immediately shut down by his coach. And he would back down and just go along with the flow.
It happened several times. No matter the reason behind it - it would be dismissed and shut down. One of those moments surprised me, as he asked to make the runs down to the net less frequent because of some nagging pain with his ankle, and the response from his coach was that he needed to work more on his volley game so he had to do those runs.
And again he just stayed silent and kept doing run after run.

Mind you, this is not a child - quite the contrary, a 24 years old athlete that you would expect to be somehow more assertive and in control of his practice and training plan.
Except he's not.

As we sat down after practice, we had to address the elephant in the room - setting boundaries and sticking to them.
Because you see, how you manage your boundaries shows how you react to resistance, how you manage opposition.
If you set a boundary, and you take it down at the slightest resistance - was it even a boundary to begin with? And what do I learn every time that I am able to push over your boundaries? That I can keep pushing them over. It's just positive reinforcement. So now every time you try to complain, or make a request, or set some boundaries - my previous experience of watching you back down, will just drive me to try and push them over.
What do you think I learn when you back off on your boundaries at the first opposition? Like when you say your ankle hurts but then you keep doing runs to the net? Now I have learned that with some opposition and resistance, I can push over your boundaries, and you will back down. Every single time you aalow that, you reinforce that pattern, that your boundaries and requests will be dismissed.
Conversely, if you stick to your request - or at least negotiate, I'm learning to work as a partnership or to respect your boundaries.

He thinks it over for a while and then he smiles. He says it's going to take a while, but he's going to start trying to recognize when it happens, and he will try to negotiate and find an agreement with his coach.

The first step is always the hardest.
And this is a wake up call for everyone - to observe our own interactions.
For us coaches - if we find ourselves constantly pushing down athlete's objections (I know I'm guilty of being a pusher and always asking for more), to listen more and negotiate more.
And for the athletes - to be assertive and speak up and not back down at the first hint of opposition.
We can and we will meet on middle ground, we just have to learn to communicate and negotiate and do this work together.

#coaching #boundaries #assertiveness #expectations

Forged in Pain - August 2019

We are forged in pain
We are forged in fire

Our gymnastics team motto when I was in high school was - easy day. You could hear it all day in the gym - and it was painted on the wall.
You got on the beam at Championship, and some teammate would shout easy day, normal routine, like everyday in the gym. It was our way to tell each other hey it's all good, you got it, it's what we practice everyday, it's just an easy day like all others easy days, normal routine like you always hit it. It was also our way to dismiss pain and hardship. You tired? Easy day. You hurt? Easy day. Recovery not going well? Easy day.
In other words, deal with it cupcake, it ain't gonna get better - we are just going to get tougher and get the job done no matter what.
Easy day.
It ain't easy at all - we make it easy. F*** the pain, we are stronger.

I had a little mantra back then, when things got really tough and doubt was about to creep in. When I felt tired or when the pain was too awful or when I thought I didn't have the strength in me to make one more set - I would just talk to myself and tell myself "I am strong athletic and powerful". Like, going through my mind throughout a routine - I am strong athletic and powerful, I am strong athletic and powerful, I am strong athletic and powerful, to no end until everything was done, and that would take me through the hard climbs.
It was my way to tell myself hey, ignore the pain, ignore everything outside of you, it doesn't matter, nobody cares, nobody freaking cares, just get through it, just do what you're here to do, just make it happen, make it freaking happen.
Easy Day.

My constant reminder of those days is an old shirt that has been my favorite T-shirt for a very long time. It's got some holes, and rips, and I don't even care - I still love it like day one, and it follows me everywhere I go. It's a black shirt with a distressed American flag and a skill on the front, and the words "Forged in Pain", and two muskets with the words "this we'll defend" on the shoulder.
That shirt is with me like a Linus blanket everywhere I go. Big moments, Championships, high-stakes metings, travel... that shirt is always with me.
It's my reminder that we are forged in pain. That we are stronger than anything. That we can withstand and endure anything life throws at us. That no matter what comes, it's going to be just - Easy day.
It's also my reminder to give thanks to God no matter what.

"give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Forged in Pain says - be grateful.
Forged in Pain says - Pain created me, pain created my strength, and resilience, and character. Pain tells me I'm here, I'm alive, I'm functioning, I'm working, I'm doing it, I'm making it happen, I'm giving God glory.
Forged in Pain says - God is with you. And regardless what's around you, regardless of the obstacles, regardless of the enemies, regardless of the hardships, regardless of the world against you, you will make it. You will be okay. You will make it happen.
Easy Day.

"We celebrate in hope of the glory of God.
And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations,
knowing that tribulations bring about perseverance,
and perseverance, character; and character, hope"
- Romans 5:2-5

#pain #easyday #forgedinpain #resilience #strength #character

Finding Joy - June 2019

"Don't let the devil steal your joy"
Grandma Alice

How do you want to be remembered?
My friend likes to ask hard questions. He just left his job coaching a college team, and is looking for a new team or club to call home.
It's a hard question - I say. And I think my answer has changed over time.
I always thought that in the future I would want my athletes to remember me for big achievements, big life lessons, championships, and everything in between.
Something like hey we won nationals with Coach Elena, she taught me a full on beam, or a double layout, or whatever it was.
I guess I thought I wanted to be remembered for things like performance and proficiency or character development or mental toughness and what not. Or big accomplishment like winning first place or a NCAA trophy or something of that nature.

And now I wonder how that was even important to me at some point. Because right now it's like a side effect, not really the goal.

These days, when I think about legacy, I lean towards the idea that what I want the most is for them to have a great experience. For them to think oh man those years on the gymnastics team were the best years of my life. Those championships with my teammates were the best of times.
I want these kids one day to look back and think that college gymnastics or club gymnastics was the best thing ever, the happiest of times, that they had the time of their life and they had fun.

And yeah the medals and the trophies are cool but they will end up stacked on a shelf and the life experience will stay with them forever, every day of their life.
And I really hope that someday they look back and smile and think - Oh I've really enjoyed my time in gymnastics. That's what I really want.

#joy #gymnastics #fun #team #sports

The cave you fear to enter hides the treasure you seek - April 2019

"Everything you seek is seeking you"
- Rumi

Sounds great. It does.
Except I'm an action taker.
Or as my boyfriend says - a control freak.
And I've always looked at that quote and thought that yes, it's true, but we need to add something.

Everything you seek is seeking you
And yet you must take action
You must walk to it
You must take the steps of Faith
You must show God that you believe
That everything you seek is yours to have

Do not fear great loss and change
When God allows you to experience loss, He is making room, He is holding space for you
He takes away so you can see
He gives you a gift
Clarity
He takes away to make room for what you really want
He makes space for a gift
Fulfillment
He makes room so we can see opportunity
He makes room so we can learn to receive
He makes room for Hope
He makes room to increase our Faith

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
- Hebrews 11:1

#Hope #loss #change #fear #trustGod #unseen XX.

We are who God says we are - March 2019

"When we know who Jesus is, it changes who we are"
-Hosanna Wong

Do you know who you are?
When you know who you are it changes how you live and how you fight for Jesus.
Why fight, you may ask? Glad you asked. Because we are always in spiritual warfare. And sometimes we may wonder, what is it about us that attracts the attacks of the enemy? Me, I'm invisible, why would the enemy even pay attention to me? No, seriously, for real - I am no one, why would the devil even care?

And the real question is - what are we doing for God?
What is the purpose that God wrote for our lives - and what is the impact of that purpose? Because you see, the enemy is not really after us, he is after our seed, our destiny, our legacy.

And there's a few questions we should ask, when we see the battle coming to our footsteps:
-What is so terrifying about me, that the enemy would launch a full attack on me and my dreams?
-Why is the enemy trying to silence me, what mighty and victorious message am I carrying?
-What is the enemy trying to stop me from doing?

So who are we? We are who God says we are. Our father in heaven defines us.
I am who God says I am.
What does God call us?
Friend John 15:15
Chosen 1 Thessalonians 1:4
Masterpiece Ephesians 2:10
Temple 1 Corinthians 6:19
Messenger Acts 1
Loved Romans 5:8
Free John 8:36
New 2 Corinthians 5:17
His child Galatians 3:26

We are who God says we are.

#Godsarmy #spiritualwarfare

Athletes come first - February 2019

I'm a bit partial to event coaching, you may say.
Okay, whatever, obsessed, really.
I believe we give athletes the best service when there is one specialist running one or two events and we coach as a team.

I think the core idea behind this is - team coaching allows all coaches to coach to their strengths. You are the best at beam, you coach beam. You are the best at bars, you coach bars. That way, athletes get to train in the best possible conditions at all times.
The foundation here is that athletes have to come before the business. Team coaching is more expensive for a club than having one coach that does it all. However, the benefits are endless.
We have to put the athletes as our first priority, not the success of the business. The success of business is a given when things are run properly, and it's a side effect, a byproduct of what you are creating and how you are serving your athletes.
When the athletes come first, then we all coach to our own strengths.
We surround ourselves with other specialists and experts, that are strong in the areas where we are weak, so that together we can form a cohesive team that is strong all around.

What happens in places where the business comes first, is that we tend to coach in the areas of need for the business - and that is not always our area of strength. We may end up being a bit of a 'placeholder' in some areas or practice sessions. When that happen, we may end up coaching a 'weaker' event and at that point we are not really serving those athletes to the best of our abilities. When that happens too often, it may becomes almost a disservice to some of those athletes.

What we have to keep in mind is that, as coaches, we may get a do-over or a second chance. It happens all the time. We have groups of athletes, and over a career we might see hundreds of kids.
Our athletes however, they do not get a do-over. They have one chance. We owe it to them to create for them the best possible environment, and support their one chance.
The best possible environment is created by assembling a team where every single coach is training in their area of strength. Coaching to our strengths is how we show integrity and respect for our athletes' effort, and for their one chance at this sport. It is how we create champions, and how we model in sports the values that we want them to learn for life.

#values #coaching #strength #integrity

The things we can control, and those we can't - January 2019

"My last thought was: the die is cast. We had made every sensible preparation for the election and for governing afterwards. If honest endeavour were the test, we would not fail. In the end, however, Man proposes and God disposes. We might deserve success, but we could not command it. It was, perversely, a comforting thought. I slept well."
- Margaret Thatcher

Some people struggle with the harsh reality of judged sports. I've been around two (artistic gymnastics and equestrian dressage) for most of my life, and kind of learned to deal with the controllables and leave everything else in the hands of heaven.
The idea of focusing on what is under our control is simple. It reminds us that we should respect and enjoy the process, that preparation is key, that mindset is the driving force behind all we do.

When I ask athletes - especially young ones - about their goals, that is one thing we focus on: establishing goals we can actually control.
Scores can be sexy - but at the end of the day we have limited control over the final score. We have a degree of control over a D-score and a SV, but the final score is pretty much in the hands of the judges. Mindset, attitude, skills, performance, execution, artistry, presence - there is so much that is actually in our hands, and under our direct control. What we think and feel before the start of a routine. How we prepare before stepping onto the podium. The hard work we have dedicated to mastering our skills. The character and intention we put in our performance. The attention to all details in our execution. The expression and emotions that read in the artistry of our routines. The rythm and tempo and flow of our movement. The presence and command of the audience during the time of the routine. All of this and more, we can control.

This is what we work for. The controllables.
Once those are established - all is well.
And yet the uncertainty remains - as Margaret Thatcher put it, man proposes and God disposes. The moment we present to the Chief Judge, we leave the outcome in the hands of heaven. We embrace uncertainty and allow room for variability. It's our own athletic version of the VUCA principle.
We prepared. We perform. And we step into the cave of the unknown - for we do not know what the outcome will be.

It's a lesson in releasing control of the outcomes once you know you have done your part. And it is a lesson in accepting shared responsibility with God. We do our work - and leave everything else in His hands. And we trust that He has a plan for us.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
-Jeremiah 29:11

#plans #goals #control #outcome #faith

We all want to be supported, or do we? - August 2018

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."
- 1 Peter 5:10

I've always had a distant relationship with support.
I grew up with the idea that support equates weakness, and the last thing I ever wanted was to be in need of support.
And of course the world around me responded to my construct by giving me exactly what I asked for: zero support. That's how life works - ask and it is given. I was never supported, regardless of whether I needed support or not. I wanted to do it all alone, and the world allowed me to do just that. It was just as if God had responded and granted my request. You are on your own, kid.

Did I really not want support? Maybe. Or maybe it was just a strange foreign concept to me.
I did not know how to ask for it, nor how to receive it - if it was every offered. The only answer I knew was - no thanks, I'm good, I don't need anything. No thanks, I got this.

And the mind plays tricks on you when you get into a habit. For the longest time I never had support, and that almost made me resentful towards those who did - those who were supported and able to ask and receive help and support. Strange how we raise walls and build our own prison sometimes.

And then at some point a dear friend called me out on it. He just flat out said - Hey E., you know it's okay to ask for help and receive help, right? You can just be grateful to receive help and support, and gracefully accept it and receive it.
And my spinning brain was like, wait, what? You mean it's that simple?
Ouch, hard truth there...

And it hit home, and I started practicing being a graceful and grateful receiver.
It was strange at the beginning. Uncomfortable for sure, weird, and almost made me feel like I wasn't the independent person I thought I used to be.
And then at the same time it also felt relaxing, and peaceful, and gave me a sense of belonging and community That I had never known before.

It's okay to be supported.
It's okay to receive.
It's okay.

#receiving

One coach, one person, or maybe yourself - June 2018

"All you need to be successful is one person who believes in you"
- Rachel Pedersen

Sometimes leadership is a quiet breeze that changes everything.
I remember my division director once stood in the doorway and quietly and observed an interaction with one of our residents who was struggling to keep the pace.
We were trying to support her, to hold space for her to manage her cases and meet reporting requirements and deadlines.
It was especially challenging in her case, managing ADHD and also dealing with the extra pressure of having an older sibling who was a very successful attending in that same hospital.
The comparison game was quickly becoming a crushing load.

Behind on a forensic case already overdue, she had gotten lost on the protocols and I was walking her back step by step through the procedures to be completed.
The division chief, who had been standing there silent for like two minutes, called the resident by name and said "all you need to be successful is one person that believes in you."
The intern looked up in silence, and our Division Chief continued "You are allowed to be that person for yourself. And you have also found two people who believe in you, and they are here with you right now. You will be successful, I have no doubts"
She walked out without waiting for a response. She knew there was no need for a response.
I will always remember that day.

I think about it often when I see an athlete struggling for whatever reason.
All it takes is one person that believes in you.
One coach.
One parent.
One sibling.
One teammate.
One.
And if all else fail - here is my written permission for you to be that person for yourself.

"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven."
- Matthew 18:19


#confidence #believe #support #success

To God be the glory - May 2018

Not to us, O LORD, not to us,
but to your name goes all the glory
for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
— Psalm 115:1

Why do you do what you do? Maybe because you love it. Or maybe you have a deeper purpose. Do you?
I am here to do His work.
Here to give Him glory.

Everything I do is for His glory.
That's it.

#HisGlory #AllGloryToGod

Defiant to the end - May 2018

When you thank God, He listens.
When you praise God, He is by your side.
When you worship God, He will act on your behalf.
- Dr. Caroline Leaf

I have been the unlikely one my entire life.
The one who wasn't good enough
the one who wasn't going to make it
the one who wasn't smart enough
the one who should have picked last
the one with the glasses
the one who was coughing and sneezing with allergies 365 days a year
the one with the weird heart rate that should not have been in sports
the one with random high blood pressure
that one with the asthma attacks
the one who wasn't athletic enough
the one who wasn't strong enough
the one who wasn't fast enough
the one who was never going to win anything
the unlikely one Except somehow God decided to extend me some grace, and allowed me to rewrite the story.
Not just good enough, but way better
The one that not only made it, but thrived on it
Not smart enough and yet made it to be a doctor
The one who always ended up being first pick
Glasses or not
Allergies or not
Despite the weird EKG
Despite HTN
Despite asthma
Not just athletic enough - but strong, athletic, fast, and powerful
The one who didn't just win - but also scored perfect 10.0 on both beam and floor
The unlikely one

The unlikely one who wanted it bad
The unlikely one who prayed for it
The unlikely one who believed it
The unlikely one who worked hard for it
The unlikely one who made it all happen



And here I am
Giving thanks to God
because it was all Him
His grace
His strength
His glory
His name that I praise


And here I am
me being me
unlikely
defiant to the end
welcome to my world
Let's adventure together!

#unlikely #defiant

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